


Contamination: Book 2

by Lightfyre



Series: Contamination [2]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: some intense gore and horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-02-04 05:25:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 29,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12764097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lightfyre/pseuds/Lightfyre
Summary: With most of ForestClan having been slaughtered by the Dark Ones, Lynxheart and the other survivors flee to LakeClan. Though  dealing with a tremendous amount of grief and shock, Lynxheart tries to hold on to his faith in StarClan...however, his faith is tested as more dark events unfold, and he begins to be visited by other, more malicious spirits in his dreams.





	1. Chapter 1

** Allegiances **

**ForestClan**

Medicine Cat: Hemlocktail- gray and white tom with green eyes  
Messenger Cat: Dusklight- dark ginger tabby tom with amber eyes

Warriors:

Cherryleaf- light brown tabby she-cat with green eyes  
Eagledawn- ginger she-cat with amber eyes  
Grayspots- spotted gray tom with green eyes  
Apprentice, Sprucepaw  
Lynxheart- golden tabby and white tom with black-tipped ears and tail, and amber eyes  
Patchmoon- white tom with black patches and tail, and yellow eyes  
Starlingwind- mottled pale brown tabby tom with green eyes  
Apprentice, Walnutpaw  
Sunwhisker- yellow tabby tom with amber eyes  
Tulipwhisker- black, red, and white tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes  
Apprentice, Firpaw

Apprentices:  
Firpaw- longhaired dark tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes  
Sprucepaw- dark brown tom with black patches, a white chest, and yellow eyes  
Walnutpaw- pale brown tom with a white chest and amber eyes 

 

 **LakeClan**

Leader: Shellstar- white she-cat with dark brown flecks and pale yellow eyes  
Deputy: Loontail- dark brown tabby tom with a thick, feathery red tail and amber eyes  
Medicine Cat: Grebefeather- dark tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes  
Messenger Cat: Peachglow- pale ginger she-cat with amber eyes 

Warriors:

Blackfish- black tom with amber eyes  
Bluefrost- gray tabby tom with a white chest and brilliant blue eyes  
Fintail- silver tom with yellow eyes  
Firecreek- dark ginger she-cat with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Flashpaw  
Foamfur- white she-cat with green eyes  
Lampreytail- light gray tabby tom with a long tail and yellow eyes  
Lightflower- longhaired yellow tabby she-cat with blue eyes  
Nightpuddle- black she-cat with bright blue eyes  
Pikewhisker- dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
Plumshade- black and ginger she-cat with amber eyes  
Reedwing- dark brown tom with a white chest and amber eyes  
Sandblaze- pale ginger tom with amber eyes  
Smewflight- longhaired dark brown tabby and white she-cat with green eyes  
Sunnymist- white she-cat with silver and yellow tabby stripes, and blue eyes 

Apprentices:  
Flashpaw- ginger tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Queens:  
Icewillow- longhaired pale gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes  
Mother of Bluefrost’s kits—Cranekit (longhaired gray tabby and white tom with blue eyes) and Ripplekit (light gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes) 

Elders:  
Carpfang- plump gray tom with amber eyes  
Paleflame- pale ginger she-cat with blue eyes  
Redstem- dark ginger tom with amber eyes 

 

**CliffClan**

Leader: Drizzlestar- light gray tom with darker gray flecks and blue eyes  
Deputy: Robinsong- pale brown she-cat with amber eyes  
Medicine Cat: Grousetail- thick-furred gray tabby tom with blue eyes  
Messenger Cat: Skywind- longhaired light brown tom with sky blue eyes

Warriors:

Bearpelt- huge brown tom with amber eyes  
Bramblesnow- slender dark brown tabby she-cat with a white face and blue eyes  
Cragclaw- slender dark brown tom with amber eyes  
Gustfur- light gray tom with a ruffled pelt, deeply notched ear, and blue eyes  
Ivyshine- silver tabby she-cat with a shiny pelt and green eyes 

Queens:  
Aspendust- gray she-cat with sandy colored patches and green eyes  
Mother of Russetkit (mottled dark ginger and sandy tom with amber eyes) and Dawnkit (gray and ginger she-cat with green eyes)

 

 **Cats outside the Clans:**

Silversnake- slender silver tabby tom with blue eyes (formerly of ForestClan)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music for this chapter:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LDy2iOJal8

The forest was dead silent as the returning patrol of ForestClan cats stared into their camp. The entire clearing was soaked in blood, the stench of it thick and suffocating. Scattered about the camp were the remains of what were warriors, reduced to piles of shredded fur and gore. The living cats stood still, unable to move or speak. Suddenly, Walnutpaw collapsed in the crimson stained grass, letting out a long, horrible scream. 

“Lakefrost…LAKEFROST!” Sunwhisker yowled. The yellow tabby somehow found the strength to move, and went running for the nursery, where his mate and kits were. Lynxheart’s heartbeat throbbed in his ears, deafening him.

_Oh, please, StarClan, at least let the kits be okay._

Suddenly, Sunwhisker collapsed to the ground with a shriek. Lying just outside the nursery was a mound of shredded gray tabby fur. Next to it was a tiny yellow bundle, covered in deep, bloody gashes.

“L-L-Lakefrost….B-Brightkit…” Sunwhisker sobbed, curling up into a shivering ball. 

Lynxheart swayed on his paws, the reek of blood threatening to overwhelm him. For a second time since he’d reached the camp, vomit spewed from his mouth. 

“How did this…what…happened…?” Grayspots stuttered in a tiny voice. 

“Oh, StarClan…they’re all dead,” Dusklight whispered, staggering around the clearing and staring at the bodies with his bulging amber eyes. 

“Yellowfox…Lilyfrost…Buckleap…Acornfall…Mistspeckle…everyone…” Patchmoon choked. Suddenly, he gasped, as if now remembering the cat most important to him. 

“Dustycloud!” 

The black and white tom went streaking into the warrior’s den, where his mate had been resting from an injured foot. Two of his kits, Sprucepaw and Firpaw, followed him, their paws splashing through the puddles of blood as they ran. Suddenly, Patchmoon tripped over something and went sprawling into the grass. Pushing himself up, he let out a low, heartbreaking yowl as he recognized the body of his mate, Dustycloud. Sprucepaw and Firpaw pressed together and trembled as they looked down at their mother’s mangled body. 

Starlingwind was licking Walnutpaw’s head, trying to comfort his apprentice, who was still screaming. Eagledawn was standing over two of the bodies; the normally stern she-cat was quivering from head to tail, a look of utmost terror in her amber eyes. 

“Seedblaze…Falconflight…” she whimpered, looking down at her slain mate and brother. 

“Is anyone still alive!? Can you hear us!?” Lynxheart found himself yowling, his voice high-pitched and kit-like. He was greeted with silence as dark clouds rolled across the sky, casting long shadows over the camp.

Tulipwhisker crept over to the elder’s den, peering inside. The tortoiseshell she-cat jumped back with a screech of horror. Lynxheart saw that the ferns concealing the den were spattered with blood, and lying halfway out of the entrance was the body of Branchclaw. The elderly tom’s glassy eyes stared blankly ahead as blood oozed from several huge tears in his body. A few fox-lengths away lay one of his legs, and his severed tail was dangling from a thorn bush. 

Lynxheart tried to swallow yet another surge of vomit that shot up his throat, but to no avail. Coughing as the acrid liquid dripped from his mouth, the young warrior stumbled across the clearing, stepping over body after body. He spotted the bodies of the other elders—Suntail, Mistletail, and Hawknose, as if they’d all been pulled out of the elder’s den and flung in various directions. 

Then, Lynxheart froze as he came to a mound of thick black fur and tattered flesh. 

“No…” Lynxheart moaned quietly. He may not have recognized Wolfstar, if it weren’t for the familiar yellow eyes that were bulging out of the leader’s head. Although his body had ripped apart by huge jaws, his fangs were parted in a fearsome snarl, as if he’d gone down fighting. As far as Lynxheart had heard, Wolfstar had only lost two of his nine lives before…but he knew there was no way that StarClan could heal these ghastly wounds. 

And then, Lynxheart saw the two bodies lying near Wolfstar’s. Somehow, he knew who they were before he licked blood from their fur to reveal their pelt colors. Although he begged in his head for it not to be who they thought they were, sure enough, he saw the golden tabby and reddish-black fur of Goldenleaf and Foxshade. 

“Mother…” Lynxheart squeaked. “Father…no…” 

He collapsed on his side, landing in a huge puddle of blood and sending scarlet drops flying in all directions. His parents couldn’t be dead…they were two of ForestClan’s strongest warriors…they’d been fine when he’d left to go on patrol, how could they suddenly be dead?

“Lynxheart. Lynxheart!” Tulipwhisker was shaking him. His sister grabbed him by the scruff and pulled him to his paws, letting him lean against her. He was just now aware that he was hyperventilating. 

“Lynxheart, I know this is horrible,” she said, her voice shaking as she looked down at their parents’ bodies. “But we have to…we have to look for survivors…”

“Was anyone else not in the camp while we were out?” Hemlocktail, who had been standing frozen in the corner of the camp since they’d arrived, had finally found his voice. 

“Oh…Spidershade, Martenwhisker, Doeflight, and Beechpaw were out on another patrol!” Grayspots gasped.

“Beechpaw!” Patchmoon went barreling out of the warrior’s den. “I have to find my daughter!” 

“Hold on!” Eagledawn’s voice was suddenly sharp once again. “You shouldn’t go alone, Patchmoon. StarClan knows what did this…” The ginger she-cat paused, swallowed hard, and then continued. “But, whatever attacked the camp…is probably still out there.” 

At that moment, an intense horror gripped Lynxheart like an icy set of claws. He suddenly knew exactly what had done this. There was no other explanation. He turned to meet the eyes of Dusklight, exchanging a mortified, knowing look with his friend. 

“It had to be the Dark Ones.” Though his expression was filled with terror, Dusklight’s voice was eerily monotonic. 

“Are…are they gonna…c-come back?” stammered Walnutpaw, trembling and pressing up against Starlingwind.

“We should go together to find the other patrol,” said Eagledawn. Through the grief and terror that was clouding his mind, Lynxheart couldn’t help but feel a faint feeling of respect for the she-cat. Her mate and brother had just died, yet her first priority was keeping her surviving Clan mates safe. 

“Sunwhisker?” Cherryleaf called to her Clan mate softly. The yellow tabby was standing over by a bush, staring blankly something caught between the brambles. Lynxheart nearly vomited again as he realized it was a tiny cat, with a shredded gray tabby pelt that blood was steadily dripping from. 

“Stonekit…” Sunwhisker whispered the name of his son. 

“Sunwhisker, we need to get out of here,” said Cherryleaf, her voice trembling but gentle. “You need to come with us.” 

Sunwhisker sank to the ground, closing his eyes. Eagledawn hurried over to him. 

“Sunwhisker, I know how much you’re hurting,” Eagledawn’s voice cracked. “We’re all hurting. But we have to get out of here, in case the monsters come back.” 

“I don’t care if they kill me.” Sunwhisker mumbled, his voice devoid of any emotion. “I don’t want to live in a world without Lakefrost and our kits.”

Suddenly, Eagledawn let out a furious hiss. She grabbed Sunwhisker by the scruff and hauled him to his paws. 

“Do you think that’s what Lakefrost would _want?_ ” Eagledawn spat, glaring into his face. “She’d want you to get as far away from here as possible!” 

“My kits need a father,” said Sunwhisker distantly. “I should be in StarClan with them.”

“Fine, stay here and be ripped apart when the monsters come back,” Eagledawn growled. She turned and marched away from Sunwhisker, leading the surviving ForestClan warriors towards the camp entrance. Lynxheart brought up the rear, leaning against Dusklight as he quivered. Suddenly, he turned and saw Sunwhisker staggering his Clan mates. The tom’s eyes were clouded with agony; he walked as though he wasn’t sure where exactly he was going. Cherryleaf and Thornfire went over to Sunwhisker and supported him on both sides, guiding him along as they left the camp. 

“What do we do if we see the Dark Ones?” Sprucepaw said in almost a whisper. 

“We’ll be able to feel them coming before they get here,” said Dusklight. “I can’t really explain it, but…if the air starts to feel…well… _wrong_ , then we should try and climb a tree.” 

Lynxheart let out a small moan as he remembered encountering the Dark Ones back in the reactor. The air had seemed to pulse, as if the area had turned into a giant heart that was beating. The sensation had grown stronger and stronger until those red eyes had appeared…

“Spidershade’s patrol went towards the eastern border, I think.” Tulipwhisker’s voice snapped Lynxheart back to the present. Though his sister looked just as shaken up as he was, she was determined to find her missing Clan mates. 

They headed for the eastern part of the forest. The scent of blood still saturated the air a good distance away from the camp. Lynxheart walked slowly, knowing that any step could be his last, expecting to suddenly see those giant black shapes, glowing red eyes, and malicious voices…

“I think I smell Beechpaw’s scent!” 

Lynxheart jumped at Sprucepaw’s sudden cry. Patchmoon opened his jaws, gagging on the putrid air. 

“I can smell it too too…there’s just a scent of it, under…under all of this,” the black and white tom coughed. “We must hurry!”

Patchmoon ran ahead, yowling for his daughter. 

“Spidershade! Martenwhisker! Doeflight!” Eagledawn called. “Can any of you hear me!?” 

Patchmoon disappeared around a bend. A few moments later, there came a chilling scream. 

_“NO!”_

Lynxheart forced himself to walk forward—he did not want to see whatever lay ahead, but he knew he had to. Everyone froze as the grisly sight came into view. The apprentices all let out high-pitched shrieks. Before them lay Spidershade, Martenwhisker, and Doeflight…or rather, what was left of them. Spidershade’s head was lying next to his body, his yellow eyes still wide with terror. Martenwhisker and Doeflight’s bodies were punctured with huge bite marks—both were missing their tails and some of their limbs. Suddenly, Patchmoon grabbed Martenwhisker’s corpse and dragged it to the side as he noticed a white tuft of fur poking out from under the warrior’s belly. 

“Beechpaw…no…” Patchmoon croaked, collapsing to the ground in front of his daughter. Her body was still intact, seeing as Martenwhisker had lay on top of her protectively. However, her mentor hadn’t been able to prevent her from bleeding out from a huge wound on her neck. Trembling, Patchmoon licked Beechpaw’s white and pale brown fur, as if giving her long, steady strokes with his tongue would bring his kit back to life. 

“Why, StarClan, WHY!?” That howl came from Sunwhisker, who had risen up on his hind legs. His muzzle was pointed at the sky as he cursed ForestClan’s ancestors. 

Suddenly, pounding paw steps approached the patrol from behind. 

_The Dark Ones have come to finish the rest of us off!_ Lynxheart screamed silently as he closed his eyes and prepared to die.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music for this chapter: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKZUFO-w9HE

“Peachglow!?” Dusklight cried out. 

Lynxheart whirled around, gasping as he saw the LakeClan messenger cat running to them. 

“W-what’s going on?” The pale ginger she-cat skidded to a halt and trembled, her amber eyes round with shock. “I…I came to your camp to deliver a message, but…there was…all this blood…I…I thought you were dead too, but then I heard screaming, and followed it…” 

“We were on a patrol…we met Hemlocktail, who was out gathering herbs, and he saw an omen that something terrible had happened,” Dusklight explained, his voice raspy and quiet. “When we got back, everyone was…was ripped to pieces. We went out looking for another patrol that was out…but, as you can see, they…they didn’t make it either…”   
Dusklight choked on the last few words.

“Even Wolfstar is dead!?” Peachglow gasped. 

Dusklight hung his head. “Yes.” 

“Great StarClan,” Peachglow whispered. “What could have done this?”

“The Dark Ones,” said Lynxheart, surprising himself as he suddenly found his voice. 

“We need to get the bodies here back to camp, and bury them,” said Eagledawn, trying to keep her voice steady, but failing. “And we’ll have to bury the others, too…” 

“No! I don’t want to go back to the camp!” Walnutpaw wailed, pinning down his ears in terror. “The Dark Ones will come back and kill us!” 

“He’s right,” said Starlingwind huskily as he pressed against his apprentice comfortingly. “There’s no way of knowing if they’ll return to finish the job.” 

“But we have to bury our dead!” Eagledawn cried. 

“Let’s bury them, please,” said Patchmoon, his yellow eyes heavy with sadness as he looked down at Beechpaw. “Then we can decide what to do.” 

 

They carried the remains of the four cats back to the camp, hastily burying the severed tails and legs where they’d found them. The bodies were taken down the tunnel-like formation of thin, bendy trees that led to ForestClan’s burial ground. It was the only place in the camp not splattered with blood—Lynxheart caught a wisp of cool, sweet-smelling grass, but it did nothing to calm his nerves. While Grayspots and Starlingwind stood guard at the entrance to the tunnel, the dead were quickly buried. Normally, a burial for the dead was a slow, painstaking process in which the Clan would sit vigil, lick the blood off of the body and groom the deceased cat’s fur before carrying the body down the tunnel. But there was no time to do such things now—the cats clawed shallow graves into the ground, hastily lowering the bodies in and shoveling the dirt back in. Fear throbbed in the air, everyone feeling the need to run as far from the camp as they could…but loyalty to their fallen Clan mates outweighed their terror just enough for them to stay to bury them. 

Sunwhisker retrieved the bodies of Lakefrost, Brightkit, and Stonekit, and insisted on burying them himself. Eagledawn and Patchmoon carried Wolfstar’s body into the clearing. Lynxheart’s throat tightened up once again at the sight of his leader, unable to believe that the once powerful tom had been reduced to a bloody scrap of black fur. 

“Lynxheart,” Tulipwhisker came up to whisper in Lynxheart’s ear. “We have to bury our parents.”

Lynxheart shuddered deeply, staring down at the ground. 

“I can’t,” he croaked. He couldn’t look at the bodies again…it was just too horrible. 

Tulipwhisker was silent for a few moments. Then, she gently licked her brother’s ear, and padded back into the tunnel. Moments later, she returned with Starlingwind, each of them dragging a bundle of fur covered in ragged, deep red holes. Lynxwhisker gritted his teeth and closed his eyes shut, refusing to look at the remains of Foxshade and Goldenleaf. 

_Mother and Father…I’m sorry…I’m too much of a coward to bury you…_

Peachglow helped the ForestClan cats bury the rest of the bodies. Eventually, all of the fallen were in the ground. They sat in a semicircle around the graves, silently staring at the mounds of dirt as a chilling breeze buffeted their fur. Everyone’s eyes were glazed over with disbelief, as if they expected to wake up and realize this was all just a nightmare at any moment. Thunder growled in the distance as the dark clouds up above thickened. 

“What do we do now?” Grayspots murmured. 

“I don’t want to sleep here tonight,” Walnutpaw whimpered, pressing up against Patchmoon. “Not with all this blood…and knowing those… _things_ could come back…”

Starlingwind nodded. “I don’t want to stay here either…it…it doesn’t feel like our home anymore.” 

“You’re welcome to stay in LakeClan for a while,” said Peachglow. “I’m sure Shellstar will allow it.” 

Hemlocktail dipped his head. “Thank you,” he whispered. Looking around at his Clan mates, he asked quietly, “Is that what you all want to do?” 

Many cats, including Lynxheart, nodded. Sunwhisker just stared at the ground, and Firpaw let out a sob. 

“Lead the way, Peachglow,” said Dusklight softly. 

 

They hurried through the forest, ears twitching and eyes darting around to detect any strange sounds or sights. The tall trees that once made them feel safe and sheltered now seemed dark and ominous, as if the Dark Ones could be hiding behind them. They left their home, running across the border and through the Gathering Field, where the heather swayed violently in the steadily increasing wind. By the time they’d reached LakeClan territory, however, they were all exhausted, panting and trudging along as Peachglow led the way to the camp. It had grown dark—just a sliver of dying sunlight illuminated the sparse forest. Lynxheart’s paws felt numb, and his tail dragged in the dirt behind him.

_My mother and father are dead…Wolfstar is dead…Sunwhisker’s kits are dead…_ the thoughts repeated again and again in his head, swirling like a tornado. 

Suddenly, everyone jumped as a shape approached them through the dark. Lynxheart’s fur flattened as he realized it was a cat. In the dim light, he could make out the bushy red tail of the LakeClan deputy, Loontail. 

“Peachglow, you’re back,” the tabby tom rumbled. “What are all these ForestClan warriors doing with you?”

“Loontail, please go get Shellstar,” said Peachglow, her voice cracking. “Something terrible has happened.” 

The deputy dipped his head and hurried away. Peachglow motioned for the ForestClan cats to follow her more slowly, until they were right outside the camp entrance, which was a curtain of brambles hanging between two trees. A few moments later, the brambles parted, and Shellstar appeared. The LakeClan leader’s white pelt and pale yellow eyes glowed brightly in the darkness. 

“What’s happened?” she asked tensely. 

Peachglow spoke for the ForestClan cats, who were too tired and numb to talk. As the messenger cat explained what happened, Shellstar’s eyes grew wide, and her jaw dropped. 

“Not even the kits or elders were spared?” she whispered. 

Peachglow shook her head. 

“Oh, great StarClan,” Shellstar gasped. “And Wolfstar lost _all_ of his lives?”

“Yes, he did,” Eagledawn spoke up.

Shellstar shut her eyes, a shudder rippling through her body. 

“How terrible,” she said, opening her eyes again. The normally intimidating looking leader looked quite sad—and somewhat scared--as she scanned the crowd of ForestClan survivors. 

“All of you are welcome to stay here as long as you need,” said Shellstar, her voice thick with sympathy. “I’ll call for a Clan meeting to tell everyone what’s happened.”

The air grew thick with tension and confusion from the LakeClan warriors as the ForestClan refugees filed through the camp entrance. The sky was a bit clearer here; the setting sun cast a soft red glow on the lake. Lynxheart looked away, reminded of the bloodstained camp they’d left behind. 

“Tulipwhisker!” A she-cat named Sunnymist came running up to Lynxheart and his sister. “What’s happening!?”

“You’ll hear about it in a moment,” was Tulipwhisker’s hollow reply.

“All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather for a Clan meeting!” Shellstar was addressing her warriors from the top of a tall, round boulder by the edge of the lake. 

The ForestClan warriors sat close together, away from the LakeClan cats, who were all giving them bewildered stares. 

“These ForestClan cats will be staying with us indefinitely,” Shellstar spoke, her voice loud and clear, yet very grim. “When Peachglow arrived at their camp, she learned some terrible news.” The LakeClan leader gestured to the refugees with her tail. “While these cats you see here were out on patrol, their camp was attacked by the Dark Ones—the monsters from the Dead Place. They came back to find all of their Clan mates slaughtered. They are the only survivors. Wolfstar lost all of his lives.”

Panicked gasps and cries spread through the crowd. 

“Are we safe!?” A queen named Icewillow swept her two kits close to her with her bushy tail. 

“I will be sending out extra patrols, and I want no more than three guards at the entrance of the camp at all times,” said Shellstar. 

“What if the monsters follow the scent of the ForestClan survivors here!?” that growl came from a LakeClan warrior named Lampreytail. He looked at the ForestClan warriors with narrowed yellow eyes. “Are we really going to risk our camp being attacked too, by sheltering strange cats?” 

“They are not strangers, Lampreytail,” Shellstar replied with a slight hiss in her voice. “You have met them at Gatherings.” 

“I still think this is a bad idea,” said Lampreytail, lashing his long tail. “How could we possibly defend our camp against monsters that are powerful enough to take all of a leader’s   
lives at once?’ 

Anxious murmurs rippled through the crowd. 

“Quiet!” Shellstar ordered. Narrowing her eyes, the leader continued. “I appreciate your concern, Lampreytail, but it would be heartless of us to turn away cats that have just lost   
everything.” 

“But what if _we_ lose everything, too!?” another LakeClan warrior cried. 

“That won’t happen, I promise,” said Shellstar, her yellow eyes gleaming in the twilight. 

Suddenly, Dusklight got to his paws, and looked up at Shellstar as if he wanted to speak. 

“Yes Dusklight, what is it?” Shellstar asked. 

Dusklight walked over to the boulder, and faced the crowd. 

“I lived at the Dead Place—I know the Dark Ones well,” he said. “I think they are repelled by light. They never came out when it was sunny—only if it was overcast or in the night. The forest is more shadowy than this wide open area…therefore I believe they are less likely to attack this camp.” 

“But it’s nearly leaf-bare! The sky will be overcast all the time!” Lampreytail yowled. 

“I’ve learned how to sense the Dark Ones coming,” said Dusklight. Lynxheart marveled at how calmly the dark ginger tabby was speaking, despite the trauma they’d all just been through. 

“When they’re nearby, they create this sort of throbbing sensation in the air…it’s hard to explain, but if I feel it, I will alert the camp immediately, or any of my friends who have also encountered the Dark Ones will,” Dusklight nodded towards Lynxheart. 

“But what if we can’t run away fast enough!?” An elderly LakeClan she-cat cried, pinning down her ears. “We’ll be done for!” 

“Everyone calm down!” Shellstar snapped. “ForestClan is staying with us, and that is final. The Dark Ones are a threat to all the Clans, and we must deal with them together.” 

The LakeClan leader scrambled down from the boulder, signaling that the meeting was over. 

“Grebefeather!” Shellstar called to a tortoiseshell she-cat that was sitting outside the mouth of a stony cave. “Can you bring out some poppy seeds? Our guests are in a lot of shock.” 

The medicine cat nodded, and disappeared into the cave.

Sunnymist came hurrying over to Tulipwhisker. Her beautiful silver and yellow tabby fur was bristled in shock. 

“I am so sorry,” she gasped. 

Tulipwhisker nodded, staring down at her paws.

“Did Lampreytail’s words upset you? I’m sorry—he’s my brother. He’s loyal to the Clan, although rather sharp-tongued.” 

“That’s not it,” Tulipwhisker mumbled, shaking her head. “My parents are dead…I had to bury them.” 

“Oh.” Sunnymist gave Tulipwhisker’s ear a gentle lick. “I’m sorry…I’ll let you grieve in peace.”

“No, stay here,” said Tulipwhisker, touching Sunnymist’s flank with her tail. “Talking to you is…helping some.” 

The two she-cats lay down in the sand, pressing their pelts together. Lynxheart collapsed into the sand himself, letting out a faint sob as Dusklight curled around him. Burying his face into his friend’s dark ginger pelt, he murmured, “StarClan….what have we done to deserve this?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music for this chapter: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdK8NXsMOdA

The air was filled with eerie screeches and wails as the ForestClan cats ran in panicked circles around the camp. The ground pulsed as shadowy figures went flying after them, shredding their pelts in an instant and spraying the surrounding foliage with blood. Warriors, elders, kits---everyone, was thrown through the air, their bodies reduced to bloody tatters, as the few that were remaining scrambled desperately towards the camp exit. 

**_“STOP RUNNING, YOU DISGUSTING CREATURES! ACCEPT YOUR DEATH!”_** The monsters howling was mingled with the helpless screaming of cats. 

“Lynxheart, wake up!” 

Lynxheart yelped and jumped to his paws as someone nudged him. Looking around, he remembered where he really was, in the LakeClan camp. He sank down on his haunches into the sand, panting hard. 

“Are you okay?” Dusklight pressed his nose against Lynxheart’s cheek. 

“No,” Lynxheart replied. “I don’t think I ever will be again.” 

“Don’t say that.” Dusklight rubbed up against him. “I thought my world was over too, when the Shadow Seekers were killed by the Dark Ones. But it wasn’t—I found myself a new life.”

“Can you call this a life?” Lynxheart whispered. “We can’t escape the Dark Ones, no matter where we go.” 

Dusklight narrowed his eyes. “We’re warriors,” he whispered back. “We don’t give up.” 

Lynxheart pushed himself up to his paws and looked around the camp. It was a partially overcast morning, with patches of blue sky in between the gray clouds. He and Dusklight had fallen asleep on the shore, while most of their Clan mates had slept in the reed beds around the camp that served as dens. Lynxheart could tell by their weary expressions that none of them had slept well. The apprentices were huddled around Patchmoon, who was talking in a hushed voice with Eagledawn. Grayspots and Starlingwind were still asleep, curled up together in a small scoop in the sand. However, a few others seemed to be doing alright--Tulipwhisker was sharing a fish with Sunnymist over by the lake, and Cherryleaf and Thornfire were sharing tongues with some young LakeClan warriors. 

Lynxheart walked over to where Eagledawn and Patchmoon were. “Do either of you know where Sunwhisker is?” he asked. 

Eagledawn’s eyes darkened as she nodded. “He’s in Grebefeather’s den…he isn’t doing well at all. Hemlocktail is with him, though.” 

Lynxheart hung his head, sympathy for his former mentor stabbing him in the heart. It killed him to see the once cheerful, enthusiastic warrior so listless and depressed. Perhaps Sunwhisker would appreciate it if Lynxheart paid him a visit. 

He headed over to the small hole in the side of a stony hill, slipping inside and finding himself in a narrow, damp, cool tunnel. Lynxheart crawled forward until the tunnel widened into a den, illuminated by a small crack in the stone roof. The scents of multiple herbs flooded his nostrils as he looked around. It was quite a beautiful den, with a soft, moss covered floor and a small pool of water in the middle. Grebefeather and Hemlocktail were deep in discussion, looking at the bundles of herbs lined neatly up against one wall of the den. The two medicine cats didn’t yet seem to notice that Lynxheart was there. 

“Wow…you have horsetail…I can almost never find that in my territory!” Helmocktail was staring at Grebefeather’s herb collection with awe. “And what’s this stuff? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before.”

“That’s alder bark,” said Grebefeather. “Alder trees are common in the marshes around here. Their bark is good for toothaches.” The tortoiseshell she-cat pointed with her paw towards a pile of tiny green leaves. “And this is what I just gave Sunwhisker. It is goatweed, which has as similar effect as poppy seeds.”

Lynxheart noticed Sunwhisker curled up in a nest nearby. The yellow tabby was unusually still and silent, with only the slow rising and falling of his flank to indicate he was alive. 

“Oh—Lynxheart, I didn’t realize you were here!” Hemlocktail exclaimed as he turned around and saw his Clan mate. 

“This is a place for medicine cats and patients only,” said Grebefeather, narrowing her eyes at Lynxheart.

“Sorry,” he said, dipping his head. “I just wanted to check on Sunwhisker.” 

“He’s sleeping right now,” said Hemlocktail in a gentler tone, padding over to Sunwhisker’s nest. With a heavy sigh, the ForestClan medicine cat added, “The poor thing didn’t  
sleep at all last night even with poppy seeds…Grebefeather had to give him several goatweed leaves.” 

Lynxheart motioned for Hemlocktail to come closer to he could whisper to him.

“Let’s go talk outside,” Hemlocktail murmured. The two of them squeezed through the tunnel out of the den.

“Sorry about Grebefeather. She’s devoted to her Clan, but is wary around strangers,” Hemlocktail apologized. Lowering his voice, he said, “What was it you wanted to say to me?” 

“Do you think StarClan has abandoned us?” Lynxheart whispered.

Hemlocktail flinched back, his green eyes startled. Then, he took a deep breath and flattened his fur. 

“Of course not,” the medicine cat said calmly. “They would never abandon us.”

“Then why did they let the Dark Ones attack the camp?” Lynxheart murmured. “They let them kill Wolfstar…and the kits…”

“StarClan doesn’t let things happen,” said Hemlocktail. His voice was sharp, but tinged with sadness. “They can’t stop anything from happening. They can only warn us of  
tragedies, or help us cope with them.”

“Then why didn’t they warn us about the Dark Ones?” Lynxheart bit back a hiss, unsheathing his claws and sinking them into the sand. 

“That I don’t know,” Hemlocktail admitted. With a deep sigh, he looked up towards the sky. “Honestly, I think there are some things that not even StarClan can foresee happening.”

“Then what do we do?” Lynxheart whispered. “If StarClan can’t protect us from the Dark Ones, then…are we all destined to be killed by them?” 

“There’s no need to assume to the worst.” Hemlocktail brought his gaze back down to meet Lynxheart’s. “I’m going to the Starlit Pool tonight, where hopefully, I can get some answers.” 

Lynxheart nodded, and then headed over to where Dusklight and Tulipwhisker were talking with Sunnymist. His head spun with numerous emotions and thoughts…he wasn’t sure what to think, or how he should feel—all he knew was that at that moment, he hated being alive. Part of him longed to be up in StarClan, reunited with his parents and safe from the Dark Ones. 

_Why couldn’t I have been one of the cats that died?_

Lynxheart shook his head, aggressively dislodging the thought from his mind. What good would that have done for ForestClan? They were lucky to have at least some cats that had survived. He was more valuable to his Clan right now than he’d ever been. Lynxheart had to stay alive, no matter how painful it was. 

“Where’s Peachglow?” Dusklight was asking Sunnymist. 

“She went to CliffClan to tell them what happened,” said the tabby she-cat. “You know…to warn them to stay safe.”

“Are you sure that she should be out traveling right now?” Concern crept into Dusklight’s voice. 

“Her sister Plumshade went with her,” said Sunnymist. “They’re quite fearsome as a duo…I once saw them drive off an angry badger all by themselves!” 

“Oh, well, that’s good to know,” said Dusklight, sounding somewhat relieved.

“Shellstar just told the apprentices from your Clan that they can sleep in our apprentice’s den,” said Sunnymist, as if trying to change the subject to make Dusklight worry less.  
“Flashpaw will enjoy the company—she’s the only apprentice in LakeClan right now. Of course, Icewillow’s kits will be apprentices soon.” 

“Oh. I thought Flashpaw would be an apprentice by now.” Tulipwhisker only sounded half-interested, as if she were asking questions to keep herself distracted from the current terrible reality. 

Sunnymist sighed. “Yes, she is….her brothers have earned their warrior names--Blackfish and Pikewhisker--but she’s sort of being punished. A few moons ago, she wandered off on her own and no one could find her for a whole day. She came back the next morning, saying she’d followed an interesting scent and got lost. She scared her parents pretty badly. Shellstar’s held back on making her a warrior until she proves herself worthy.”

“Oh, I see,” said Tulipwhisker. 

“Flashpaw is a very intelligent young cat, but she has a nose for trouble,” said Sunnymist. “I hope she can soon learn to keep herself out of it.”

“It’s kind of Shellstar to let our apprentices sleep in the same den as your own,” said Dusklight. “But it looks like they’ll want to sleep near their father, Patchmoon, for a while. Their mother and sister were among those killed.”

“Oh, I see,” said Sunnymist quietly. “I can’t even imagine losing any of my family.”

Suddenly, Dusklight raised his head and looked out across the lake, into the distance.

“Silversnake is still out there,” he murmured. “I hope to StarClan he’s alright.”

Lynxheart let out a small gasp. In the midst of all the chaos and terror, he’d completely forgotten about Dusklight’s brother.

“I’m sure he knows how to keep himself safe.” Lynxheart comfortingly pressed his muzzle against Dusklight’s shoulder, but his gut was clenching at the thought of Silversnake out there all alone, struggling to resist the calls of the Dark Ones. 

Lynxheart was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts as a black she-cat with bright blue eyes approached the small group.

“Hey Sunnymist, Loontail wants you on the next patrol,” she said. 

“Alright, tell him I’ll be there,” said Sunnymist. 

“He also asked if you could bring your ForestClan friends, since Shellstar wants a lot of warriors guarding the territory,” said the black she-cat.

Sunnymist turned to Lynxheart, Dusklight, and Tulipwhisker, silently asking if they wanted to join. Lynxheart sighed. The events of yesterday weighed him down like a stone in a stomach, making him want to crumple up into a ball and die. But he knew he couldn’t give into his grief—he had to keep moving, had to stay busy to prevent himself from going insane. Dusklight and Tulipwhisker seemed to have the same idea, as they quietly followed Sunnymist and the black she-cat to where the patrol was gathering. 

“Why are they joining us?” Lampreytail growled, irritably tapping the tip of his tail against the ground as he narrowed his eyes at the ForestClan warriors.

“Don’t be rude to our guests!” Loontail hissed. 

Lampreytail’s nostrils flared, but he said nothing else. The patrol set out, making their way around the lake. Lynxheart still couldn’t believe how huge it was—the water seemed to stretch out endlessly in all directions. About halfway along the west shore, Loontail led the patrol down a slope into a thin patch of woods. A few brown, shriveled leaves dangled from the spindly branches of the thin trees. The barren looking land reminded Lynxheart of the now empty, quiet ForestClan camp…

“Hey!” Tulipwhisker hissed under her breath, nudging her brother. She pointed with her tail towards a thorn bush, where a blackbird could be seen through the branches, pecking at the ground. Lynxheart dropped down into a hunting crouch, carefully placing one paw in front of the other as he crept around the thorn bush. Suddenly, a twig snapped under his paw, causing the blackbird to flutter into the air. Loontail went running over, leaping up high and skillfully grabbing the bird by the neck midflight. The LakeClan deputy bit down hard on the prey as he landed, the bird’s neck breaking with a sharp _snap._

Lynxheart suddenly felt sick. The image of the Dark Ones’ glowing white fangs flashed into his mind. They had torn through the pelts of his Clan mates, ripping apart his parents, Sunwhisker’s kits, the elders, and everyone else…had their deaths been quick, or had they been slow and agonizing? 

Lynxheart hadn’t realized that he’d collapsed to the ground and was dry heaving until he heard Tulipwhisker and Dusklight’s concerned voices. 

“Lynxheart, what’s wrong!?” Tulipwhisker cried, touching her muzzle to her brother’s. “Speak to me—are you alright?” 

“No, I’m not. Everyone is dead,” Lynxheart moaned.


	5. Chapter 5

Lynxheart slept restlessly, tossing and turning in a nest of reeds. He dreamed he was in a shadowy copse of pines, where the air was silent, save for the distant howling of wind. He walked quickly, looking around for a way out—the tall, thick trees blocked out the sun, making the area nearly dark as night. Lynxheart’s fur prickled as the shadows seemed to grow longer—or perhaps that was his imagination. He felt slightly relieved when the trees widened into a clearing where there was more light. There was a large boulder that was flat at the top in the middle of the clearing. 

Lynxheart nervously unsheathed his claws—something about this place did not feel right. Even out in the sun, there was still a strange dimness to the air. Lynxheart then froze, noticing something on top of the boulder. A cat was lying on top of it, its silver fur blending in with the stone. 

“Silversnake!?” Lynxheart cried out.

Silversnake did not respond—he was curled up into a ball, seeming to be asleep. He looked quite thin, and his usually sleek fur was dirty and unkempt. His paws twitched fitfully as he slept. 

“Silversnake!” Lynxheart called to him again, making his way over towards the boulder. But then, suddenly, he woke up. He sat up in the reed bed and whirled his head around, realizing he was back in the LakeClan camp.

“Are you okay?” Dusklight sleepily raised his head. 

“I had a dream…I was out in this dark forest, and I saw Silversnake!” Lynxheart sputtered. “I…I think StarClan is trying to tell me where he is!”

Dusklight gasped, pushing himself up into a sitting position. “Where is he? Where’s my brother!?” he cried, his amber eyes nearly bulging out of his head. 

“I…I don’t know where the forest is,” said Lynxheart. “But it was really shadowy, and there were a lot of pine trees around. Silversnake was sleeping on top of a big flat rock...he was asleep, but he looked ill and distressed.” 

Dusklight gasped again. “We have to go find him!” 

Lynxheart frowned. “But we don’t know how to get there.” 

“Then we’ll travel until we find the place.” Dusklight stood up and slipped out of the reeds. Lynxheart followed him, nearly running right into Tulipwhisker as he did. 

“Oh, hey, I was just coming to wake you up,” she said. Noticing his expression, she asked, “What’s wrong?” 

Lynxheart told her about the dream. 

“That place sounds familiar,” said Tulipwhisker, narrowing her eyes. “Didn’t we pass through it on our way to the Dead Place?” 

Lynxheart gasped, suddenly remembering when he and those who had made the journey with him had spent the night in the clearing with the rock. 

“Yes, we did!” he exclaimed. “Maybe if we go there, we can find Silversnake!” 

Tulipwhisker blinked. “What? You’re seriously going to head out into the woods, with those beasts out there?”

Eagledawn came hurrying over, fixing Lynxheart with a piercing gaze. 

“Where are you going!?” she exclaimed. “You can’t just wander off—we have to stick together!”

“But Lynxheart had a dream about where Silversnake is,” Dusklight said, defensively standing in front of the other tom. “We need to find him and bring him back here, where it’s safe.” 

“No!” Eagledawn snapped. “We can’t afford to lose more of us. What if the Dark Ones kill you? How will our Clan be able to live on then?” 

“I’m going to find my brother!” Dusklight’s fur rose along his spine indignantly. “I’ve already lost one, and I'm not going to lose the other!” 

Eagledawn opened her mouth, as if to speak, but then fell silent, her hard gaze softening into a sad look, as if she were thinking about Falconflight, her own brother that had been slain. 

“We’ve all lost kin,” Patchmoon came over, a stern scowl on his face. “But Eagledawn is right—we must stick together. You’d be mad to go back into the forest when it’s crawling with those…whatever they are!” 

Lynxheart’s pelt suddenly grew hot with anger. He dug his claws into the ground as he snarled at Patchmoon, “You’re not the leader! You don’t get to tell us what to do!” 

“Yes, but I’m older than you two, and I do not approve of such a foolish idea,” Patchmoon’s yellow eyes glinted harshly. “Since we have no leader at the moment, and Eagledawn and I are the oldest among us, I think the rest of you should listen to us.” 

Lynxheart let out a loud growl, resisting the urge to sink his claws into the tom’s black and white pelt.

“What if I go with them?” Tulipwhisker suddenly spoke up. 

“What, and get yourself killed too!?” Patchmoon spat. 

“We survived the Dark Ones before—we can do it again.” Tulipwhisker confidently wrapped her tail around her paws. 

“I’ll go too,” Grayspots suddenly appeared. “Starlingwind, are you in?” 

His brother nodded, coming up from behind him. 

“The five of us have the most experience with the Dark Ones,” said Grayspots. “We know where to find Silversnake—it’s a spot between here and the Dead Place.”

“But if you leave, who will mentor the apprentices?” Eagledawn asked sharply. 

“There’s no reason they can’t train while we’re away,” said Tulipwhisker. “You and Patchmoon can teach them some things, and so can Cherryleaf and Thornfire.”

Eagledawn paused for a moment. Then, more quietly, she said, “But what if Silversnake doesn’t want to come back with you?” 

“I’m sure he will,” said Lynxheart, dropping the hostility from his voice. “In my dream, he didn’t look so well. I think StarClan wants us to go find him. Why else would I have this vision?” 

Eagledawn sighed heavily. “We’re not going to be able to stop you, are we?” she mumbled. Then, the hardness returning to her voice, she said, “Fine. But all of you better make it back here alive.” 

“Of course,” said Lynxheart, dipping his head to the older warrior. 

“We won’t be gone more than a quarter of a moon,” Tulipwhisker promised. “You can trust me on that.”

“I’ll go ask Hemlocktail to give us some traveling herbs,” said Grayspots, heading for the medicine den. 

“Are you really going to leave?” That whimper came from Walnutpaw, who was padding over with his litter mates following behind. 

“We won’t be gone long,” said Starlingwind, comfortingly draping his tail across his apprentice’s shoulders. “We’ll be back soon, I promise.” 

“I hope you find Silversnake,” said Sprucepaw. “No cat should be out on their own in a time like this.”

“We will definitely bring him back,” Lynxheart vowed. 

 

“So, it’s the five of us again, out on an adventure,” said Starlingwind. 

“This is not an adventure!” Tulipwhisker exclaimed, her tortoiseshell fur rising along her spine. “How can you be so lighthearted when most of our Clan mates are _dead!?_ ” 

“I’m just feeling a bit nostalgic, is all,” Starlingwind mumbled, hanging his head. 

Grayspots gave a small purr and bumped his brother’s shoulder. “There are _six_ of this time, dummy.” 

“Oh, yeah. Sorry Dusklight,” said Starlingwind. 

“We were successful on our mission last time,” said Lynxheart, trying to sound hopeful. “Perhaps we will be successful again.” 

“I’m coming, Silversnake,” he heard Dusklight mumble under his breath. 

Lynxheart bit his lip as he looked up at the dark gray sky. This felt like anything but an adventure. A wind was picking up, howling ominously as it whipped between the lifeless, bare trees. 

_Wolfstar, if you’re watching us…please help us find Silversnake,_ Lynxstar prayed silently.


	6. Chapter 6

“Gah!” 

“Starlingwind!” Grayspots burst through a clump of gorse bushes, which his brother had been making dirt behind. Lynxheart followed after Grayspots, his heart hammering with fear. Both toms skidded to a halt as they discovered that the ground on the other side of the bushes suddenly dropped away to a deep, rocky gulch. Starlingwind clung to the edge a few tail lengths down, his hind legs dangling as he struggled to climb back up. Grayspots and Lynxheart carefully reached down, grabbing their Clan mate by the scruff of the neck and hauling him back up to level ground.

“You should have been more careful, you stupid fuzz brain,” Grayspots growled at his brother. 

“Oh, it’s my fault that the ground gave away suddenly?” Starlingwind retorted in an uncharacteristically angry voice. 

Lynxheart flattened his ears with unease. It had been a few sunrises since they’d set out, and everyone was on edge. Since they had returned to the denser woods near ForestClan's territory, they’d been on a constant lookout for Dark Ones. They slept in trees, hoping that the monsters could not climb them, and several times a day, one of them would climb up a tall tree to scout the area for any unusual movement. 

_This is so wrong,_ Lynxheart thought with a shudder. _We’re being hunted in our own territory._

“Stop arguing!” he cried, jumping between Grayspots and Starlingwind, who were both bristling and lashing their tails.

“What’s going on!?” Tulipwhisker came hurrying over with Dusklight bounding after her. 

“I just saved Starlingwind’s life, and he’s being an ungrateful piece of mouse dung!” Grayspots spat. 

“Hey, _you_ started this argument!” Starlingwind hissed. 

“Stop it, both of you!” Tulipwhisker yowled. She fixed both toms with a stern glare. “We do not need to be fighting amongst at each other in a time like this.”

Grayspots and Starlingwind fell silent and began licking at their spiked fur, as if embarrassed. Lynxheart felt a rush of pride towards his sister—she was so much like their mother, authoritative and brave. But upon thinking about Foxshade, he was suddenly swamped with grief. He would never again hear her confident, reassuring voice, see the love for him shining her eyes, and feel her warm, calming tongue stroking his pelt…

“I know that everything is terrible right now.” Dusklight’s voice snapped Lynxheart out of his stupor. The fire-colored tabby spoke calmly. “Back in the Dead Place, Silversnake, Aleks, and I used to argue sometimes when things got rough--if we couldn’t find enough prey to eat or whatnot. It’s the same for us—I know that we’re all stressed, and sad, and scared…but we can’t take it out on each other. We are still a Clan, and we need to act like one.”

Grayspots sighed heavily, hanging his head. “You’re right, Dusklight,” he admitted. “It’s just that…everything feels wrong. My parents and my sister are dead—Starlingwind and I are the only ones left in our family. Even my sister’s kits died, too...” Grayspots choked on the last few words. After another sigh, he continued. “And we don’t have a leader anymore, or even a deputy. What is going to become of ForestClan?”

“There are still a good number of us left,” said Tulipwhisker. “Our Clan will not die out, as long as we stay alive. At least we still have a medicine cat. Hemlocktail can speak to StarClan, and see what they have to say about this.” 

“Are we even sure that StarClan is still around?” Grayspots murmured. His green eyes darkened. “I’m starting to think that they don’t care what happens to us.”

“Oh, surely they do,” said Dusklight gently. “Why else would they send Lynxheart a dream showing him where to find my brother?” 

At that moment, Lynxheart was suddenly overcome by a splitting headache. He staggered sideways, nearly falling over as his head throbbed with intense pain. Suddenly, Lynxheart realized that his surroundings were different. He could no longer hear his Clan mates arguing—he was back in that shadowy copse, where the air was so unnaturally dark. His brain seemed to pulse as the pain grew even more intense. And then, Lynxheart saw Silversnake. He was lying in the grass, his usually sleek silver tabby fur now wildly unkempt and caked in mud. His blue eyes were bulging out of his head as he trembled, staring at something off in the near distance. 

“NO!” he yowled. “LEAVE ME ALONE!”

Lynxheart could make out a faint, unnatural-sounding murmur that echoed in response. Oddly, it sounded calm yet malicious at the same time. 

_“SHUT UP!”_ Silversnake wailed. He reared back his head and pinned his ears flat against his skull. 

And then, all of a sudden, the dim air and tall pines disappeared. Lynxheart found himself lying on his side, panting heavily as the agonizing headache ebbed away. His vision blurred and then came back into focus--he saw that everyone was gathered around him, staring down with concerned, wide-eyed looks.

“Lynxheart, what happened!?” Tulipwhisker exclaimed, her voice sharp with fear. 

“I…I had another vision…” he panted. “I saw Silversnake again…I think he’s in trouble!”

“What do you mean!?” Dusklight gasped.

Lynxheart groaned as he pushed himself to his paws. “I’m not sure….he just looked very distressed, and he was yelling at someone…or, you know…something…”

“The Dark Ones,” said Dusklight quietly. Then, his voice rose to a shout. “We have to hurry! Do you think Silversnake is nearby, Lynxheart?” 

“I have no idea.” Lynxheart gingerly shook his head, ridding himself of the remnants of the pain. “These visions I’m having are very vague.”

“Well, if we keep moving, we might run into him,” said Tulipwhisker. “Come on, let’s hurry.” 

They followed a narrow, winding creek towards the edge of the woods, which opened out into a wide field of dry, brittle grass that crunched under their paws as they ran. Up above, the dark clouds parted, and bright sunlight illuminated the air. Lynxheart welcomed the warmth on his shoulders and picked up speed, feeling slightly more energetic now.   
And then, suddenly, he caught a trace of a familiar scent on a passing breeze.

“Silversnake!” Dusklight cried. “I smell him! He’s nearby!” 

Lynxheart’s pelt prickled—he’d only detected the scent for a brief moment, but it was quite fresh. 

“Silversnake!” Dusklight yowled. “Silversnake, where are you!? It’s me, Dusklight!” 

“Shh!” Tulipwhisker hissed. “The Dark Ones could be nearby, and they’ll hear you!” 

“Sorry,” Dusklight whispered. “I’m just…so relieved he’s alive…”

They were approaching a band of tall pine trees, which stood out like a looming shadow against the pale blue sky. Lynxheart felt the fur along his spine rising—was this the place he had seen in his visions?

The warriors stopped a few fox-lengths in front of the tree line, their pelts bristling as they exchanged nervous glances. 

“What if the Dark Ones are in there?” Starlingwind murmured.

“We’ve escaped them before,” said Dusklight. “We can escape them again.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Starlingwind admitted. 

“Here, I’ll try to get a look of the area,” said Grayspots, heading over to one of the pines and scrambling up the trunk He disappeared between the dark green branches, and a few   
long, tense moments later, he came back down. 

“Well, I couldn’t get that good of a view,” he reported. “This is a really dense forest.” 

“We have to go in, though,” Dusklight urged. “Silversnake is in there—his scent is getting stronger.” 

“I…I guess if StarClan wants us to go in there, then they must be watching over us,” Lynxheart swallowed, trying to hide the fear in his voice. “Let’s go in.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music for this chapter:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky_XH8sdKoQ&

The six cats stuck close together as they crept across the needle strewn floor of the forest. Here, the trees grew so close together that barely any sunlight came through. Lynxheart took a big, deep breath of the cold air—at least this place wasn’t nearly as terrifying as the reactor—here, he could detect the natural scents of prey hidden deep in the ground, and minty aroma of the pines. Although this forest wasn’t completely dark, there was still an ominous aura hanging in the air. Lynxheart’s heart thudded so hard in his chest that he swore that any creature that was nearby would be able to hear it…

“Silversnake?” Dusklight called softly. “Silversnake, if you’re here…please come out.” 

Lynxheart could detect bits of the silver tabby’s scent on low hanging branches—it seemed as though they were getting closer to him. 

“I swear, if he refuses to come with us, I’m dragging him out of here by the scruff,” Lynxheart heard Grayspots growl under his breath. He couldn’t help but give a small snort—but his brief amusement was suddenly interrupted by a sharp snapping noise. Everyone jumped nearly a fox length into the air, their fur bushing out to twice their size. 

“Sorry…I stepped on a twig,” Starlingwind whispered. 

“Great StarClan, you’ll make us all die of fright before the Dark Ones even find us!” Grayspots hissed. 

Lynxheart sighed heavily with relief…still, his fur remained spiked up. 

_Is this what prey feels like?_ he wondered. _Taking each step with caution, knowing that anyone could be their last?_

Suddenly, there was a flicker of movement just ahead. Everyone froze. Then, Dusklight quietly said, “Silversnake?”

There came the unmistakable sound of paw steps, scurrying quickly in the direction opposite from them. 

“It’s him!” Dusklight hissed. He went streaking ahead, his glowing orange coat flashing through the shadows. 

“Dusklight, wait up!” Lynxheart couldn’t help but cry out. They went rushing after him, following the sounds of rustling undergrowth and the scent of Silversnake—which was very strong and clear now. Lynxheart’s heart hammered in his chest as low hanging branches smacked his face—panic threatened to swallow him up as they seemed to run directionless through the forest. 

And then, suddenly, there was light. Lynxheart skidded to a halt—he recognized this place. It was the clearing he had seen in his vision! He whirled his head around, seeing the flat boulder and everything. However, Silversnake was nowhere to be seen. 

“Which way did he go!?” Lynxheart whispered to Dusklight, who was looking around wildly for his brother.

“I don’t know!” Dusklight cried. Raising his voice, he yowled, “Silversnake, please come out! We just want to talk!” 

The clearing was deathly quiet, save for the faint howling of the wind in the distance. But then, after a few long moments of nerve-wracking silence, a clump of ferns at the edge of the clearing rustled, and a slender silver figure slipped out. 

“Silversnake!” Dusklight gasped. “Oh, thank StarClan you’re alive!” 

Lynxheart’s brief moment of relief suddenly came to a halt. Something was very wrong…Silversnake did not look as he had in his visions. Instead of filthy, starving, and frightened, he seemed…normal. The sheen had returned to his smooth silver tabby pelt, and his blue eyes were clear and calm. However, that wasn’t what made Lynxheart feel like his heart had frozen into a solid block of ice. It was the expression on Silversnake’s face. He was wearing a sneer, approaching the cats as he waved his tail in almost a taunting manner. He curled his lip, his eyes darkening as he stopped just a tail length in front of Dusklight. 

“Why hello, brother,” he said. “Long time no see.” 

“I was so worried!” Dusklight breathed, stepping forward to brush his muzzle against Silversnake’s. “Where have you been!?”

Lynxheart flattened his ears. Silversnake did not return the gesture—instead he stood still, that odd, smug look remaining on his face. 

“Where have I been?” he purred silkily. “Well, you see I’ve been getting…well, re-educated.” 

Dusklight stepped back from his brother. “W—what do you mean?” he stammered. 

“You see, our father was right all along,” said Silversnake. “The Dark Ones need me…and we need them.”

“What are you talking about!?” Dusklight’s amber eyes grew wide as he began to tremble. “Silversnake, what’s wrong with you? You’re scaring me!” 

“There’s no need to be afraid.” Silversnake slowly lashed his tail. “As long as we submit to the Dark Ones and do what they say, they’ll let us live.” 

“What are you talking about!?” The startled cry exploded from Lynxheart’s mouth before he realized he was the one that had said it. 

“The Dark Ones want something…and I’ve agreed to help them find it,” said Silversnake. “I’d love to tell all of you about it…but of course, you’d need to agree to pledge your loyalty to them, first.” 

“Why are you doing what they say!?” Dusklight wailed. The normally calm tom was growing more and more panicked by the moment. “Silversnake, this isn’t you! The Dark Ones have possessed you!”

Suddenly, Silversnake threw back his head and let out a wild, loud laugh. The blood roared in Lynxheart’s ears as suddenly, for some reason, all of his instincts were screaming at him to run away immediately. But he stood his ground, inching closer to Tulipwhisker as he trembled. Silversnake’s horrible laughter went on and on…and then, at last, he spoke again. 

“Oh, no, no, Dusklight, you’ve got it all wrong. You see, the Dark Ones don’t _possess_ us. They fill you with the most horrible, mind numbing fear, and plague you with endless nightmares for days…until you realize what should have been obvious before.” Silversnake narrowed his eyes, his voice suddenly turning into a high-pitched snarl. 

“The Dark Ones will kill ALL of us! Their power is unstoppable! There is no escape from them! Our only hope is to submit and do what they say!” 

“Silversnake…” Dusklight’s voice was almost a whisper. “Oh, Silversnake, no…” 

“Don’t pity me,” Silversnake spat. “You should be relieved. I am safe now—the Dark Ones will not hurt me, because I have earned their trust. Isn’t that what you wanted, for me to make friends?” 

“Silversnake…please…” Dusklight choked. “Come back home with us. We can protect you.” 

“That’s a lie and you know it!” Silversnake’s face twisted in disgust. “Do you think I’m stupid, brother? There is _nothing_ you can possibly do to protect me from the Dark Ones, and you know it. Your only hope is for all of you to submit to your will!”

He swept his piercing blue gaze along the other cats. “If you don’t want what’s left of ForestClan to be torn to pieces, then come with me to the Dead Place! I can show you how you can find salvation.”

“Wait…what?” Tulipwhisker shrieked. “How do you know what’s happened to ForestClan?”

Silversnake threw back his head again, his manic laughter seeming to grip Lynxheart like a pair of ice cold talons. 

“You idiots!” the silver tabby chortled. “How do you think the Dark Ones found the camp, hmm? I _led_ them to it!” 

Complete, utter silence gripped the air. Lynxheart’s legs wobbled violently from under him, threatening to give out, as he tried to comprehend what Silversnake had just said…

“NO!” that bloodcurdling shriek came from Dusklight. “Tell me it isn’t true!” 

“Oh, come now, brother.” Silversnake was purring creepily again. “I had to appease them somehow. Besides, you should consider the ones that were slaughtered lucky. You survivors have been left to live in this miserable world where the Dark Ones have absolute control….but there is quite a simple solution. You can choose to submit to them, or ask them to kill you quickly. I only wish I could die…it would be a very merciful thing for them to do.” With another shuddering laugh, he added, “Of course, the Dark Ones only have so much mercy.” 

“MURDERER!” Suddenly, Grayspots was lunging at Silversnake, his claws outstretched. 

“Don’t!” Dusklight rammed into Grayspots, pinning him down in the grass. Grayspots screeched and raked his claws across Dusklight’s shoulders, trying to push him off. 

“STOP IT!” Lynxheart screeched. “Don’t fight!” 

“He murdered my family!” Grayspots hissed his green eyes narrowed to glittering slits as he churned and kicked from underneath Dusklight. 

“It wasn’t him, Grayspots!” Lynxheart cried. He ran over, grabbing his friend’s scruff in his teeth and pulling it taught, forcing him to lie still. 

“Grayspots…he’s ill,” he murmured through a mouthful of fur. “It wasn’t him who killed everyone—it was the Dark Ones.” 

Grayspots lay there, heavily panting, his struggles growing weaker and weaker, until he finally went limp with a whimper. Lynxheart looked back to Silversnake, who had been sitting there calmly the whole time.

“Silversnake.” Dusklight’s voice squeaked like a kit’s. “Please tell me you didn’t do this.” 

“I did,” said Silversnake. His matter-of-fact tone made Lynxheart shiver from head to tail. 

“Why?” Dusklight whispered.

Silversnake scowled. “Well, isn’t it obvious? They would have killed me, had I not shown them where the camp was. You see, they have a need to kill…it keeps them alive. If I help them, then I don’t die a horrible death. It’s as simple as that.” 

“ _You_ won’t die, but other cats will!” Tulipwhisker cried, arching her back. “They killed everyone—even the kits and the elders!”

“Well of course they did,” said Silversnake flatly. “That’s what the Dark Ones do. They kill.”

“W—why?” Lynxheart choked out. “Why do they do it?”

Silversnake shrugged. “I have no idea. I find it wise not to question them.”

“You’ve gone insane!” Starlingwind cried.

“No I haven’t.” Silversnake gazed coolly at him. “I’ve simply woken up and realized the truth—we cannot win. We must submit to the Dark Ones’ will.”

“No!” Lynxheart found himself shouting. “We’re warriors! We _never_ submit to an enemy!” 

Silversnake let out a long, frustrated hiss. “Fine then,” he snapped. “It’s obvious you all are too stupid to understand this. I guess I’ll have to let you see for yourselves what you’re up against.” 

He turned away from them and dived back into the patch of ferns he’d emerged from. The others had no time to react, as all of a sudden, the air began to pulse violently. Silent yet powerful waves shook the clearing, nearly knocking the cats off their paws. 

“Oh, no…” Lynxheart moaned, his mouth going dry. “No…” 

As a cluster of clouds went over the sun, the clearing suddenly grew much, much darker. Shadows stretched across the ground, seeming to cast the forest into night. And then, black figures emerged from the trees, even darker than their surroundings. Lynxheart swayed back and forth with the rhythm of the quickly strengthening pulse, as the one within his chest seemed to stop. Surrounding him and his Clan mates was a ring of burningly bright red eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Start chapter with this music: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A2SzB_yfeI&
> 
> When you get to *, change it to this: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A2SzB_yfeI&

Lynxheart couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak, or breathe. He just stood there, petrified, as the Dark Ones slowly inched closer and closer, almost seeming to taunt the cats. The pulsing was so powerful now that it rattled his bones. He felt the pelts of his Clan mates press against him as they were trapped in a tight circle. The stench of fear saturated the air as those blinding red eyes grew near…even when Lynxheart shut his own eyes, he could see their horrible glow.

The Dark Ones continued to come closer, until one of them had stopped right in front of Lynxheart, just a mouth length from his face.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT!?” The scream erupted from his throat involuntarily.

The Dark One opened its mouth, revealing lustrous white fangs that glowed in the darkness almost as brightly as its eyes. 

_**“WE WANT YOU TO DIE,”**_ it spoke in its horribly deep, echoing voice. 

And then, suddenly, the clouds moved away from the sun, casting a bright beam of light into the clearing. The darkness rapidly faded, and for the first time, Lynxheart could see the shapes of the Dark Ones. Their bodies were large and wolf-like—with pointy ears, slender legs, and long snouts. Their pelts were thick, black, and spiky, and their heads, although also covered in what was apparently fur, were so craggy that they resembled dark skulls. Those giant red eyes took up most of their faces, being nearly the size of a cat’s paw.

As sunlight flooded the clearing, the Dark Ones suddenly jumped away from the cats. One of them parted its jaws and let out a deafening noise that seemed like a scream mingled with a hiss. Then, the others began to scream as well. They violently shook their heads and shut their eyes as their black pelts faded to gray in the bright light. Then, they turned and fled, becoming flashes of darkness as they sped off at an unnatural speed into the surrounding woods. 

Lynxheart fell down on his haunches, wheezing with relief--although his heart continued to hammer wildly.

“Oh, great StarClan, I thought we were dead!” Grayspots moaned, crouching over Starlingwind, who was lying splayed out on the ground, having passed out.

“We have to get out of here,” said Tulipwhisker, her voice tight with barely concealed terror. “Now.”

“But what if they attack once we’re in the woods?” said Grayspots, nudging Starlingwind awake and helping him to his paws.

Lynxheart looked around, suddenly noticing a narrow opening in the trees. There seemed to be a path that ran along a small gap in the forest. 

“Over there!” he cried, pointing at it with his tail. “It won’t be as dark there. Let’s hurry!”

They fled through the passageway, their hearts pounding and paws churning up dirt as they desperately tried to distance themselves from the clearing. Lynxheart panted, his lungs blazing, as he zipped along the winding path. His Clan mates hurried after him, their panicked breathing almost in sync with his own. As the trees suddenly grew close together, they crashed through the undergrowth, branches whipping at their faces. Lynxheart prayed silently to StarClan, hoping that no shadows with glowing eyes and teeth would suddenly lunge at them…

And then, they had cleared the edge of the forest and were back in open land. Everyone sank down on their haunches, exhausted and gasping for breath. Lynxheart’s vision swam—he felt as though he might pass out. And then, suddenly, something else jumped out of the trees. Silversnake approached them, ears flattened and tail lashing. 

“You got very lucky,” he hissed, his eyes glittering hatefully. “Had the sun not come out, you would all be in pieces by now.” 

“Silversnake…why?” Dusklight breathed. “Why would you try to make them kill us?” 

“I tried giving you a chance to live!” Silversnake spat. “You don’t get it, do you? If you won’t submit to them, you have to die! It’s far better to be dead than to live in a world where they are constantly hounding you, with no escape!” 

“We’ll go down fighting them if we have to!” Grayspots snarled, bearing his fangs at Silversnake.

“HA!” Silversnake let out a loud, harsh snort of laughter. “You seriously think you could win in a fight? They move faster than a snake!” 

“Of course we wouldn’t win. But we would still die with dignity,” Grayspots growled. “Have you forgotten yours? You were taught the ways of the warrior code!”

“I never was a warrior,” Silversnake hissed. “ForestClan never accepted me—not really.”

“Wolfstar gave you a warrior name!” Lynxheart yowled, feeling a sudden rush of both anger and pity towards his former Clan mate. “You trained with Spidershade—he was out searching for you when the Dark Ones killed him, did you know that? He was sorry for what he said—he wanted you to come back.” 

“He was sorry for what he said, huh?” Silversnake’s voice dripped with disgust. “If he really cared about me, he wouldn’t have said anything bad about me at all. He deserved to die. I could see the contempt in your Clan mate’s eyes whenever they looked at me. They thought I was a freak.” 

With a chuckling purr, he added, “How ironic that I actually _am_ a freak now.”

“And my sister’s kits!? Did they deserve to die too!?” Grayspots yowled.

“Stop it.”

Dusklight’s voice was curt and cool as he stepped between Grayspots and Silversnake. He looked his brother straight in the eye.

“I’m taking you back to ForestClan, whether you like it or not.” Dusklight’s usual warm, comforting tone was gone. He curled his lip, thrusting his face into Silversnake’s. “This is not the real you! I won’t let you become the Dark One’s puppet.”

“It’s too late for that,” Silversnake replied. He unsheathed his claws. “If you want to drag me back to ForestClan, you’ll have to kill me first.”  
*****  
Suddenly, Silversnake lunged at Dusklight. Lynxheart stood there gaping in horror, as the two brothers suddenly became a whirling ball of orange and silver. Tulipwhisker and Starlingwind jumped away as they went rolling between them. Both Dusklight and Silversnake were moving so fast that Lynxheart couldn’t tell who had an advantage. Eventually, they went flying apart, staring each other down and panting as blood dripped from several wounds on their pelts. One of Dusklight’s eyes was partially shut; having long red scratch marks across it and Silversnake had a chunk of his ear missing. Both of them gasped for breath, their eyes bright with fury and pain. And then, suddenly, Silversnake leaped on top of Dusklight’s back, raking his claws across his pelt and causing his brother to scream. Instinctively, Lynxheart went running over, but was stopped by a cry from Dusklight. 

“No! No one is to intervene!” he yowled, grasping Silversnake in his claws and flinging him to the ground. “I won’t let anyone hurt my brother except for me!” 

Lynxheart reluctantly sat down, holding his breath as he watched Dusklight pin his struggling brother to the ground.

"How noble of you,” Silversnake sneered. He contemptuously spat a mouthful of blood into Dusklight’s face and then raked his hind claws across the ginger tom’s stomach. As Dusklight reared back in pain, Silversnake wriggled out from under him, jumped to his paws, grabbed his brother by the shoulders, and closed his jaws down hard on his throat. Dusklight sank his fangs deep into Silversnake’s foreleg until the latter pulled away with an agonized wail. However, Silversnake was soon once again ripping at Dusklight’s pelt. 

Suddenly, Dusklight fell heavily to the ground. Silversnake let out a yowl of triumph, diving for Dusklight’s throat. Before Lynxheart could scream out a warning, however, Dusklight suddenly sprung to life, knocking his body into Silversnake’s and sending him soaring several tail lengths into the air. In midflight, Silversnake managed to twist around; he landed hard on top of Dusklight, and they went rolling along the ground once more. Blood and tufts of fur went flying in all directions as the two toms spun around in the dirt. Lynxheart dug his claws into the ground, trembling as Dusklight’s movements grew weaker. He was larger and more muscular than Silversnake, but the other moved very, very fast—a large gash had suddenly appeared in Dusklight’s stomach, which blood was steadily pouring from. Silversnake clamped his jaws once more onto his brother's throat, his blue eyes blazing with cold rage as he sank his fangs in. 

“NO!” Lynxheart couldn’t stand by anymore. He flew over to Silversnake, grabbing the silver tabby by the scruff of his neck and yanking him off of Dusklight. Lynxheart’s face flashed with pain as Silversnake swiftly raked his claws across his face. He let go of his opponent’s scruff, and then stood protectively over the limp Dusklight. Silversnake flattened his ears and let out a ferocious hiss, his face a nightmarish mess of blood and torn fur. 

“It’s over, Silversnake,” Lynxheart bared his fangs, warning him to stay back. “You’ve won the fight—you don’t have to kill Dusklight.” 

For a moment, Silversnake looked as though he were about to fly at Lynxheart and tear him to shreds. However, he slowly stepped back. Shaking drops of blood out of his eyes, he snarled, “Whatever! All of you will be dead soon anyways.”

Silversnake then turned and fled, leaving a thin trail of blood as he disappeared back into the dark woods. Lynxheart craned his neck downwards, sniffing at Dusklight frantically. The dark ginger tabby’s eyes were closed, and blood was still oozing from his stomach. 

“Dusklight! Speak to me!” Lynxheart cried. He looked over his shoulder at the others. “Go search for some cobwebs!” he yowled at them. “We have to stop the bleeding!”

Dusklight groaned, slowly opening one of his amber eyes.

“Dusklight! Are you okay?” Lynxheart tentatively licked at a deep wound on his friend’s cheek.

“No, I’m not okay,” Dusklight’s voice was a faint rasp. “I’ve failed Silversnake.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music for this chapter: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-ohgIpLSI8&

Dusklight walked stiffly, flanked by Lynxheart and Grayspots. It had been three sunrises since they’d encountered Silversnake. They’d managed to patch up Dusklight’s wounds with cobwebs and prevent him from losing too much blood, but he was still weak and needed to be seen by a medicine cat as soon as possible. Fortunately, they had made it back to the Clan territories, and were currently crossing the Gathering field. 

“Don’t worry,” Lynxheart soothed Dusklight as his paw caught on a rock, causing him to stagger and groan faintly. “We’ll return to LakeClan soon.”

Dusklight did not reply—instead, he stared off into the distance, his amber eyes glazed over. Lynxheart hung his head--why had StarClan even sent him that vision? Had he not been supposed to go find Silversnake? They were returning with no Silversnake and a heavily injured Dusklight. They’d left behind their remaining Clan mates and risked their lives for nothing. 

_Why are you so vague, StarClan?_ Lynxheart snarled in his head. 

“I hope the others are alright,” said Starlingwind, echoing Lynxheart’s worried thoughts. What if the Dark Ones had found the LakeClan camp, too? He forced that fear out of his mind—he couldn’t think about it, or he would go mad. He had to hope for the best in order to keep walking. 

“Don’t tell them,” Dusklight suddenly croaked. 

Everyone froze and turned to look at him. Dusklight had barely spoken since his fight with Silversnake.

“Don’t tell who what?” Lynxheart asked gently.

Dusklight raised his head, looking Lynxheart straight in the eyes. “Please, don’t tell the others about Silversnake. I don’t want them to know that he was the one who is responsible for what happened to ForestClan.”

Lynxheart felt his eyes stretch wide. It hadn’t even occurred to him how they were going to break the news to the other survivors that Silversnake had led the Dark Ones to the ForestClan camp.

Grayspots narrowed his eyes. “Why shouldn’t we tell them?” 

“Because my brother is sick,” Dusklight spoke firmly and clearly now. “The Dark Ones have messed with his head. He betrayed our Clan because he didn’t think he had a choice. But I don’t know how the others would react if they knew…what if they want to hunt Silversnake down for what he’s done?” 

His voice was thick with pain. “I know everyone’s hurting…I’m hurting too…I couldn’t blame them if they hated my brother…but I won’t let anyone kill him.” 

Grayspots opened his mouth, as if to protest, but fell silent and looked down at the ground. 

“So what will we tell them?” Tulipwhisker asked.

“Just say that we didn’t find him,” Dusklight replied. “And that I was attacked by a fox.” 

“So we’re just going to lie to our Clan mates?” Grayspots hissed quietly. 

“I don’t like the idea of lying to them anymore than you do.” Dusklight sighed. “But…I think it’s for the best. Everyone’s so full of grief and anger and confusion right now that we don’t need to add more to it.”

Lynxheart slowly nodded, and was joined by Tulipwhisker, Starlingwind, and finally, Grayspots.

“Thank you, everyone,” Dusklight whispered. 

 

When they reached LakeClan territory, Lynxheart was overwhelmed with relief as he picked up fresh scents of cats. A patrol had been out recently. They were about halfway to the camp when a group of LakeClan cats came into view. 

“You’re back!” Sunnymist came running to greet them. She stared at Dusklight and gasped, “What happened to him!?”

“He was attacked by a fox,” said Lynxheart, guilt clawing at his gut as he lied…but he supposed telling the truth would have been much more painful. He scanned the patrol, and was startled to recognize two small cats among the patrol. 

“Cranekit? Ripplekit? What are you doing out of the camp?” he asked, tilting his head confusedly.

“We’re not kits anymore!” Cranekit, a fluffy gray tabby and white tom, bounced up and down. “Shellstar made us apprentices while you were away!” He nodded to a black she-cat standing next to him. “Nightpuddle here is my mentor, and Sunnymist is Ripplepaw’s mentor!”

“Oh!” Despite everything, Lynxheart felt a small surge of happiness for the kits rise in his chest. “Congratulations.” 

“Did you find the cat you were looking for?” Ripplepaw mewed.

“No, I’m afraid not,” sighed Lynxheart. “We couldn’t find a trace of him.” At least the sadness in his voice was genuine. 

“I’m so sorry,” said Sunnymist, her blue eyes glowing with sympathy. “Well, we’d best get back to camp, so Dusklight can get those wounds looked at.” 

As they walked back from LakeClan, Lynxheart heard Tulipwhisker whispering to Sunnymist, “Those kits seem to be a bit too young to be apprentices.”

“They’re five and a half moons old,” Sunnymist whispered back. “But with everything that’s happened recently, Shellstar thought that they should start their warrior training a bit early.”

Tulipwhisker nodded. “Has anything happened while were away?” she asked, a grim tone to her voice.

“Thankfully no,” Sunnymist replied. “But there has of course been this sense of…well, dread ever since the attack on your Clan. I only hope that StarClan can see us out of these dark times.”

As they walked into LakeClan’s camp, the other ForestClan warriors came running up the shore to greet them, the apprentices in the lead. 

“You’re back!” Sprucepaw skidded to a halt in the sand. “Did you find Silversnake?” The young tom looked around, as if expecting to see the silver tabby.

“No, we didn’t,” Lynxheart lied once again, shaking his head. 

“Great StarClan, what happened to Dusklight!?” Eagledawn gasped as she and Patchmoon hurried over.

“He was attacked by a fox,” Tulipwhisker explained. Lynxheart felt an odd mixture of guilt and relief that his sister had kept her promise about going along with the lie. 

“Such filthy beasts, foxes are!” Patchmoon spat.

Lynxheart gasped as suddenly, Sunwhisker came over to join the crowd. Starlingwind took Lynxheart’s place in supporting Dusklight as the latter hurried forward to touch muzzles with his former mentor.

“It’s good to see out and about,” Lynxheart murmured. “How are you faring?”

“I’ve been better,” Sunwhisker murmured back. Though his yellow tabby pelt was sleek and well groomed once again, his amber eyes were still clouded with sorrow. “Though, it does no good for me to lie around and do nothing,” he admitted.

Lynxheart nodded in agreement. Brushing his tail along Sunwhisker’s flank, he followed Grayspots and Starlingwind to the medicine den, which Hemlocktail had just appeared out of and came hurrying over to them. Upon helping Dusklight into the cool, dark cavern, Hemlocktail shooed Grayspots and Starlingwind away—however, Lynxheart insisted upon staying, to make sure that Dusklight would be alright. Fortunately, Grebefeather was tending to an elder with a cough, so she was not there to protest Lynxheart being in her den.

“Did you go to the Starlit Pool to speak with StarClan?” Lynxheart asked Hemlocktail as he examined Dusklight’s wounds. 

The medicine cat nodded. “Unfortunately, they didn’t say much,” he sighed. “Only something about watching out for “the one that has merged with the shadows.” I have no idea what that could mean.”

Lynxheart’s pelt suddenly grew hot with anger. Unsheathing his claws and sinking them into the sandy floor, he snarled, “Does StarClan even care about us anymore, if all they’re willing to do is to give us vague prophecies!?”

“StarClan always cares!” Hemlocktail exclaimed defensively. Then, softening his voice, he added, “Honestly, they seem to be as scared and confused as we are right now…which means we are truly in some dark times.”

Hemlocktail sniffed at the large wound on Dusklight’s stomach. Lynxheart and the others had licked it and kept it wrapped in whatever cobwebs they could find to keep infection from settling in—however, a slight bit of pus was starting to form around the edges. 

“You said were attacked by a fox?” Hemlocktail murmured to Dusklight. 

The dark orange tom had closed his eyes. For a moment, it seemed as though he’d fallen asleep, but then he gave a weak nod.

Hemlocktail gave Lynxheart a strange glance, one that somehow made his fur stand up. He then looked back at his patient, and said in almost a whisper, “Dusklight, I’ve tended to enough wounds to know that these bite marks are not from a fox. You were attacked by another cat, weren’t you?”

Lynxheart’s heart pounded hard in his chest as his blood ran cold. Dusklight’s eyes snapped open. 

“Please, don’t tell anyone,” he gasped.

“I just want to know what happened,” said Hemlocktail steadily. 

For a few long moments, Dusklight lay there silently, as if refusing to speak. But then, he whispered, “We found Silversnake. He and I fought.”

Hemlocktail’s green eyes grew wide. “What!?” he breathed. “You found Silversnake? Where was he!?”

“I’ll explain,” said Lynxheart, knowing that it would be easier for Dusklight if he told the story instead.

Hemlocktail sat there, his fur bristling in shock as Lynxheart described what had happened. 

“Great StarClan,” the medicine cat breathed. “He led the Dark Ones to our camp!? He...he must be the one StarClan warned me about!”

“You understand why we can’t tell the others, right?” said Lynxheart quickly. “It isn’t Silversnake’s fault—the Dark Ones are using him. But the others may not understand that.”

Hemlocktail drew in a sharp breath. “I’m not sure, Lynxheart,” he said. “If Silversnake is using the Dark Ones to get revenge on ForestClan, then it’s probably best that we warn them."

“No!” Dusklight’s eyes suddenly flew open. He pushed himself halfway to a sitting position, despite Hemlocktail’s protests for him to lay still.

“That cat I fought wasn’t my brother,” said Dusklight. “He would never have tried to kill me, or brought the Dark Ones to ForestClan’s camp. The Dark Ones are controlling him. He needs help.” 

Hemlocktail sighed. “It sounds like it may be too late to help Silversnake,” he said quietly. "StarClan sees him as a threat now." 

“I don't care what they think! _I_ won’t give up on my brother!” Dusklight snapped, flattening his ears.

“But what can you do for him?” said Hemlocktail. “You can’t fight the Dark Ones, and if Silversnake is unwilling to listen to you…then I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do.” 

The medicine cat hung his head. “I know what you’re feeling, Dusklight. My brother was Runningdeer—our former messenger cat who was slain by the Dark Ones. If there was any way to avenge him, I would do it in a heartbeat. But I can’t. I can only protect my Clan mates who are still alive.”

“But you at least understand that I have to at least protect Silversnake’s reputation, right?” breathed Dusklight.

Hemlocktail sighed once more. “I suppose I do understand,” he said. “And everyone is terrified enough as it is—perhaps it would be better if they didn’t know that the Dark Ones have managed to brainwash Silversnake.”

“Thank you, Hemlocktail,” Dusklight gasped, sinking back down on his side. 

“I just don’t understand,” said Lynxheart, feeling a surge of anger rise in his chest again. “Why would StarClan send me a dream of where Silversnake was, if it had been too late to save him?”

“I don’t know,” said Hemlocktail, staring off into space with a forlorn look. “Perhaps they wanted to at least give you closure on what had happened to him." 

“We almost _died_ on that journey!” Lynxheart hissed. “Had the sun not appeared when it did, the Dark Ones would have ripped us to pieces!”

“Perhaps that was StarClan’s doing,” said Hemlocktail.

With a furious growl, Lynxheart stormed out of the den. He viciously kicked up bits of sand as he walked outside onto the lake shore, rage pulsing throughout his entire body.

 _I hate you, StarClan, and all that you stand for!_ he screamed silently.


	10. Chapter 10

“Flashpaw! Don’t forget to use your hind paws!” A she-cat named Firecreek, who was Flashpaw’s mentor, called to her apprentice.

Flashpaw growled with frustration as she wrestled with Cranepaw and Ripplepaw. Lynxheart and Dusklight were sitting by the lakeshore, watching the apprentices train. 

“You two are just out of the nursery—how are you stronger than me!?” Flashpaw cried, struggling from underneath Cranepaw and Ripplepaw. 

“Because we outnumber you, duh,” said Ripplepaw.

“Don’t worry, Flashpaw, I’ll save you!” Suddenly, Sprucepaw came running along the shore. He pounced on the wriggling mass of apprentices, playfully gripping Cranepaw and flipping him over in the sand. Walnutpaw and Firpaw bounced over and wrestled Ripplepaw off of Flashpaw. The young cats tumbled around, batting at each other with their paws.

“Hey, remember that you are training, not playing!” Firecreek exclaimed sternly.

“Oh, let them have some fun,” purred Sunnymist. In a quieter voice, she added, “It’s better for them not to have to train out of fear.” 

Lyxnheart thought back to when he was an apprentice. He remembered play-fighting with Tulipwhisker and the others. He sighed…he couldn’t recall what it felt like to be that carefree. 

“Our apprentices have been handling things quite well,” Dusklight murmured in Lynxheart’s ear. 

Lynxheart nodded. Half a moon had passed since the Dark Ones had attacked ForestClan’s camp. Although the surviving warriors were still coming to terms with what had happened, the apprentices had recovered the quickest and kept up an optimistic attitude—especially Sprucepaw. Lynxheart couldn’t help but feel a flicker of admiration for them—they were quite brave for such young cats. 

“Oh my, what a terrible battle this seems to be.” That purr came from Sunwhisker, who was walking past the apprentices. It seemed that he too was slowly returning to his old self.

“It sure is!” exclaimed Cranepaw, who had Walnutpaw pinned beneath him. “Walnutpaw is _dead!_ ”

“No I’m not!” Walnutpaw exclaimed, pushing Cranepaw off of him and batting at his opponent’s fluffy tabby and white pelt. 

Dusklight lay his chin down on his forepaws as he watched the apprentices play. His pelt was covered in scars from his battle with Silversnake, and there was a faraway, sad look in his amber eyes. Lynxheart wondered if Dusklight was remembering himself playing with Silversnake and Aleks as a kit. 

Just then, a pale ginger tom came walking over. 

“Have you seen our mother and father?” he asked Firecreek. 

Firecreek’s blue eyes widened slightly. “What do you mean, Sandblaze? Aren’t they in the elder’s den?” 

Her brother shook his head. “No, they went for a walk. They’ve been gone for quite a while, which worries me.”

Firecreek’s dark ginger fur bristled along her spine. “Do you think we should ask Shellstar to send out a patrol to look for them?” 

“That’s probably a good idea,” said Sandblaze. 

“Flashpaw, stay here and keep practicing your moves,” Firecreek told her apprentice. She and Sandblaze headed along the lakeside towards the shore where Shellstar’s den was. 

“Hmph, I don’t see why I have to still be an apprentice,” said Flashpaw, shaking the much smaller Sprucepaw off of her. “I’m twelve moons old.”

Cranepaw’s mentor Nightpuddle narrowed her eyes at her. “You should act like it, then, and not wander off without permission.” 

“I’m sure Shellstar will see your worth as a warrior soon,” said Sunnymist more gently. 

“She’d better!” Flashpaw crouched in the sand and lashed her tail. “I’m going to be the best warrior that LakeClan has ever seen!”

Just then, Bluefrost, a gray tabby tom who was Cranepaw and Ripplepaw’s father, came over. 

“The cough that Carpfang has seems to be spreading around,” he informed the group. “Grebefeather wants anyone who finds themselves coughing to come to her den immediately.” 

Cranepaw frowned. “That sounds serious.” 

“It’s probably just whitecough,” Bluefrost reassured him. “Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather for a Clan meeting!” Shellstar’s yowl rang out. 

A slight air of tension formed as all the cats gathered together around the boulder where Shellstar spoke. 

“Redstem and Paleflame went out for a walk this morning,” the flecked she-cat told the crowd. “It’s now sun-high, and they still aren’t back. I’m sending out two patrols to search for them.” 

“Oh, it’s my fault!” A plump gray elder named Carpfang cried out. With a rasping cough, he said, “They left the elder’s den to give me some peace since I was coughing…I knew I should have moved to Grebefeather’s den!” 

“This is no one’s fault,” Shellstar said, gazing at Carpfang. “What matters now is finding them.” 

“I’ll go!” Carpfang wheezed. 

“No you will not!” Grebefeather hissed sternly. The tortoiseshell medicine cat walked over to the elder and glared at him. “You are in no condition to leave the camp.” 

Carpfang hung his head. “I just need to know if they’re okay,” he moaned. 

“We will do everything in our power to find them,” said Loontail, who was standing at the base of the boulder. “Alright, let’s form the patrols. I’ll lead the first one—Fintail, Lightflower, Foamfur, Reedwing, and Lampreytail, you come with me. Sandblaze, you’ll lead the second one. Take Nightpuddle, Plumshade, Bluefrost, Icewillow, and Firecreek with you. The rest of you, stay and guard the camp.” 

“Do you need us to help search!?” Eagledawn called out. 

Loontail shook his head. “We’ll need cats that are familiar with our territory,” he said. 

Lynxheart pawed restlessly at the sand, feeling helpless as the patrols left camp. He just wished, for once, he could do something to protect other cats. 

“I’m scared,” he heard Walnutpaw whimper. “What if the Dark Ones got Redstem and Paleflame?” 

“Then we’ll hide.” Patchmoon licked his son comfortingly on the head. “Don’t worry. I won’t let them harm you, or your littermates.”

Flashpaw hissed from nearby. “I wish I could go look, too! I hate having to sit here and do nothing!” 

“Well, if it makes you feel better, Blackfish and I weren’t chosen either,” said her brother Pikewhisker, as he came over to her. 

“Only because you two have been coughing,” Flashpaw snorted. 

Suddenly, Lynxheart heard a soft cough come from Dusklight. Bristling, he whirled around to stare at his friend. 

“Did you just cough!?” Lynxheart cried. 

“I just had a weird sensation in my throat for a moment, is all,” Dusklight said. “I feel fine.”

“I’m not taking any chances.” Grebefeather came hurrying up to him. “The deadliest coughs often start out seeming like nothing. Come with me to my den, and I’ll give you some herbs.”

Dusklight dipped his head. “If you insist,” he said respectfully.

Lyxnheart’s whiskers twitched with worry as he watched Dusklight follow Grebefeather to her den. On top all of the things that were going on, why did his closest friend have to be coughing right now? He shook his head, dislodging the anxious thoughts. Cats got whitecough all the time in leaf-bare, and survived. Sometimes they even survived greencough. There were two medicine cats in the camp, both of whom were very competent—surely they could prevent a greencough outbreak. He went over to Eagledawn and asked her, “Are there any other cats from our Clan who are coughing?”

“Thornfire was, a bit ago, but the herbs he was given seem to have soothed it,” the ginger she-cat replied. As if reading his thoughts, she said, “Don’t worry. He had greencough as a kit, if you remember that, and he’s still alive. With two medicine cats here, I doubt this illness will get much worse.” 

Lynxheart nodded, although anxiety still clawed at his gut. At a loss for what to do, he lay down on the sand, fluffing his golden tabby and white pelt out against the bitter cold. The lake had completely frozen over; its transparent surface sparkled in the sunlight that filtered down through the dark leaf-bare clouds. Prey was scarce now that fishing was impossible. Lynxheart’s stomach growled as he realized he hadn’t eaten anything that day. 

_Great, like I need something else to worry about,_ he thought miserably, resting his chin on his forepaws. 

But then, a relieved cry made Lynxheart raise his head. The two elders that were missing, Redstem and Paleflame, were padding into camp, flanked by Loontail’s patrol. 

“Oh, thank StarClan you’re alright!” Carpfang exclaimed, hurrying to greet his friends. 

“We’re so sorry to have worried you,” Redstem apologized. Holding up a forepaw, he said, “I stepped on a thorn while we were out walking, and since I was limping, it took us a while to get back to camp.” 

Paleflame then said something, but it was drowned out by a sudden, steady thudding in Lynxheart’s ears. The air pulsated violently, shaking the tom’s bones. His blood ran ice cold as he immediately realized what was happening.

_No. Please, no._

A huge, black shape went streaking into the camp, moving so fast that it was only a blur. Loontail whirled around just as it stopped in front him. There was a flash of white, and suddenly, the deputy was swept up into the giant, gleaming jaws of a Dark One.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music for this chapter:
> 
> https://youtu.be/mw2kKyJu9gY?t=2m11s

Lyxnheart could only stand there helplessly as the camp exploded into pandemonium. His senses were suddenly so overwhelmed he couldn’t process anything that was going on. Shadows darted through the LakeClan camp as more Dark Ones came streaming in. The air was filled with their ghastly howling, and the frightened screeches of cats. One of the Dark Ones was swinging Loontail back and forth—the LakeClan deputy’s body was limp, blood spraying from his gaping mouth. 

Suddenly, Lynxheart’s instincts kicked him, giving a simple command. _Run._

He fled for the frozen lake, running straight across the solid surface. He slipped on the ice, and went crashing down on his side. Lynxheart slid for a few fox-lengths, and then came to a stop. Panting, he struggled to his paws, his heart hammering so hard it seemed it would burst out of his chest. 

Lynxheart dared to look back over his shoulder at the camp. He nearly stopped breathing at what he saw. Huge crimson puddles stained the shore. A few cats lay strewn about, their bodies reduced to bloody chunks of flesh. There were maybe about eight, ten, or so Dark Ones—it was hard to count them, as they moved so fast, running around like a terrible, black whirlwind. 

In the midst of it all, Lyxnheart spotted Redstem, who was cornered against a tree by a Dark One. In spite of the horror and fear, Lynxheart couldn’t help but be awed as the elderly tom snarled fiercely at the huge monster, arching his back and staring right back into the horrible creature’s eyes. Suddenly, the Dark One clamped its jaws down on the russet furred cat. There was a blur of shining white fangs, and within moments, the tattered, fleshy remains of Redstem were dangling from the Dark One’s jaws. 

“Lynxheart!” 

He was torn away from the horrific scene by someone calling his name. Lynxheart gasped as he saw that several other cats had followed his lead, and were running towards him across the ice. He saw Grayspots, Starlingwind, Tulipwhisker, and several other of his Clan mates, along with some LakeClan cats as well. He scanned the crowd, desperately looking for a dark ginger pelt. 

“Where’s Dusklight!?” he cried as Grayspots came near. 

“I don’t know!” Grayspots yowled back, his green eyes bulging out his head in shock. “I just took off and ran—I didn’t have time to search for anyone!” 

Terror gripped Lynxheart like a pair of icy claws. How could he have just left Dusklight, and everyone else, behind?? He’d been so scared, that all he’d thought about was getting himself away from the Dark Ones. Guilt overwhelmed him, making him want to collapse to the lake’s frozen surface and wail like a kit. 

“Last time I saw Dusklight, he was going into Grebefeather’s den!” Peachglow went sliding past Lynxheart on the ice. “I don’t think the Dark Ones can fit into the entrance—he and Grebefeather will probably be safe if they stay in there!” 

A flicker of hope flared in Lynxheart’s chest—Dusklight was one of the cleverest cats he knew, and he’d survived the Dark Ones several times before. 

_Please, StarClan. If you still care about us at all, then let Dusklight live._

“Everyone, follow me!” That cry came from Shellstar, who was racing across the ice ahead of everyone. “Let’s cross the lake! The Dark Ones may not be able to follow us across the ice!” 

Lynxheart realized with amazed relief that a good amount of LakeClan cats seemed to have escaped. Cranepaw and Ripplepaw were there, staying close to their mother, Icewillow. Flashpaw and her siblings ran alongside each other, their eyes wide with terror. A yellow tabby she-cat named Lightflower screeched as she slipped and landed face first on the ice. Cherryleaf and Thornfire hurried over, and helped her get to her paws. Several other cats slipped and fell as well. Lynxheart suddenly slipped and collided with a LakeClan she-cat named Smewflight; they both went tumbling across the ice.

“Sorry!” Lyxnheart gasped as he fought to stand upright. 

A scream came from Lightflower. Lynxheart looked in the direction the terrified she-cat was staring in, and his heart stopped. The Dark Ones were all standing on the shore, glaring straight across the lake at them with their glowing red eyes. Then, all at once, they went flying across the ice towards the cats. 

Panicked wails rang out as everyone ran faster. However, this only caused them to slide and trip over one another. The Dark Ones were rapidly approaching, dashing effortlessly across the frozen lake. Their eyes and fangs gleamed, as if they were mocking their prey. 

“Aaahh!” Firpaw cried out as suddenly, the ice shattered under one of her paws, creating a small pool of water which her foreleg plummeted into. 

“Fox dung!” Tulipwhisker hissed. “The ice is thin here!” 

She quickly grabbed her apprentice by the scruff and pulled her up from the hole. 

“Are we going to die!?” Firpaw wailed. 

“No! Keep running!” Tulipwhisker spat, shoving the young tortoiseshell forward. 

Lynxheart didn’t believe his sister’s words. The Dark Ones were just fox-lengths behind them now. His legs stopped working as he grew numb with defeat. There was no way they could escape.

 _StarClan, please make our deaths quick,_ he prayed silently.

Suddenly, a loud cracking sound split the air. Thin, jagged, white lines appeared on the ice beneath the Dark One’s paws. 

_CRASH!_

The ice gave away under one of the beasts. It let out a roar as its black body plummeted into the water below. The Dark One struggled for a moment, lashing out its giant paws and screaming, before sinking beneath the surface. The others skidded to a halt, all of them staring at the exposed pool of water. 

The cats took the opportunity, and fled. Lynxheart’s lungs blazed as his legs churned; the lake was huge—could they really run all the way across it? 

The ice began to rumble from underneath their paws—the Dark Ones had continued to chase them. Suddenly, there came another, even louder cracking sound, and a line went zigzagging across the lake. And then, the surface split into two, as the thin ice gave away into water. Chunks of ice bobbed up and down as the pool rapidly expanded. Lynxheart felt his paws sinking; he quickly leaped onto a thicker patch of ice.

“Lynxheart!” Tulipwhisker yowled. He turned his head to see that she was shouting to him from across the water; the crowd of cats had been separated by the splitting ice.

“Everyone! Spread out, and keep running! Head closer to the shore, where the ice is thicker!” That command came from Shellstar, who was at the head of the crowd. 

The cats gave the broken ice a wide berth, hurrying away from the center of the lake. However, the ice was still crumbling under their paws. Walnutpaw fell into a hole; Patchmoon swiftly grabbed him by the scruff and pulled him out just before he disappeared. Then, Ripplepaw lost her balance and went sliding into another pool nearby. 

“Ripplepaw!” Cranepaw and Icewillow hurried over to her. Ripplepaw treaded water, scrabbling at the icy edge of the pool. Icewillow gripped her kit’s scruff in her jaws and hauled her out. 

“We’ll never make it! The ice is breaking up everywhere!” Lightflower wailed. 

The fur along Lynxheart’s spine rose as he suddenly detected something beneath him. He looked down below, and jumped in terror. Staring up at him from beneath the ice were two blindingly bright red eyes. It was the Dark One that had fallen through the ice! The creature was pounding at the frozen surface with its head, creating a loud _thunk, thunk, thunk! ___

Lynxheart let out a warning yowl, hurrying away from the dark shape under the ice as quick as possible. And then, suddenly, it began to move. The shadow crept towards the pool that Ripplepaw had fallen into; she was still by the edge, being helped to her paws by Cranepaw and Icewillow.

“LOOK OUT!” Lynxheart screeched. But it was too late—a huge, black head emerged, sending up a spray of water. The Dark One parted its glowing white jaws, stretching them towards Ripplepaw’s tail.

“NO!” A blur of yellow and silver ran at the Dark One. In a flash, Sunnymist had leapt on top of the monster’s head. Her blue eyes blazed fearlessly as she grabbed one of the Dark One’s ears in her teeth and pulled hard. The beast let out an ear-splitting, unearthly scream, and flung Sunnymist off. She landed hard on the ice, and then collapsed into the pool as the Dark One’s head sank beneath the surface. Gasping, Sunnymist treaded water, reaching towards the edge of the pool with her paws. But then, she let out a pained screech, and her head rapidly slipped below the water, as if she were being pulled downwards.

“NO!” Ripplepaw screamed. “Sunnymist! _Sunnymist!"_

__“There’s nothing you can do for her!” Lynxheart’s voice cracked with grief as he ran past the shivering, wide-eyed apprentice. “Keep running!”_ _

__

__He ran alongside Patchmoon, Walnutpaw, Sprucepaw, and the LakeClan warriors towards the edge of the lake. The ice became firm again once under their paws, but the Dark Ones were still hot on their trail. Lynxheart heard a caterwaul in the near distance, turning his head, he gasped in horror as he saw Grayspots plummet through the ice._ _

__

__“Grayspots!” Cherryleaf leaped towards the water._ _

__

__“No, don’t!” Eagledawn yowled to her daughter. But it was too late—Cherryleaf was already plunging into the lake._ _

__

__“Oh, StarClan, please help us!” Patchmoon cried._ _

__

__Lynxheart whirled his head around, looking to see who was nearby. Shellstar and several of the other LakeClan warriors had gotten far ahead—the only cats near him were Ripplepaw, Cranepaw, Icewillow, Lightflower, Patchmoon, Walnutpaw, Sprucepaw, Lampreytail, and Flashpaw._ _

__

__“I don’t know where my brothers are!” Flashpaw panicked. “I got separated from them!”_ _

__

__“Oh, Sunnymist!” Lightflower moaned. “My precious daughter!”_ _

__

__“Hey, look over there!” Sprucepaw’s voice rose above the anguish. The apprentice was pointing with his paw towards a tall object on the shore._ _

__

__“It’s an oak tree!” Lynxheart realized. “Good find, Sprucepaw—maybe we can hide there!”_ _

__

__The cats sprinted towards the shore, pinning back their ears to drown out the cacophony of wails, screeches, and roars. Lynxheart’s gut twisted with guilt as he realized he was leaving some of his Clan mates behind again…but he knew there was nothing he could do for them right now._ _

__

__After several moments, Lynxheart finally felt his paws leave the ice and return to the sand. It flew up in clouds as the cats kicked it up, barreling towards the oak tree. Patchmoon was the first to reach it; he ordered his kits to scramble up the trunk, and waited for Lynxheart, as well. He nodded gratefully to the black and white tom, and then leaped up and dug his claws into the bark. The LakeClan cats struggled as their way up the oak—they didn’t seem to have nearly as much experience climbing as the ForestClan cats did. Lynxheart heard Cranepaw grunt with frustration just below him; he reached down and gripped the apprentice’s scruff in his teeth, helping him climb up to a high branch._ _

__

__“Thanks, Lyxnheart,” Cranepaw panted._ _

__

__Eventually, they had all made it to the tallest branches of the oak. Lynxheart scanned his vision across the lake—suddenly he couldn’t see the Dark Ones anymore. Had they all fallen through the ice? Biting his lip, he looked around some more. He could just make out more cats in the far distance, running for the woods beyond the lake. Lynxheart closed his eyes, slumping exhaustedly against the trunk as he sat on a thick branch. His heart pounded in his ears._ _

__

_Grayspots…Tulipwhisker…Dusklight, everyone…please be alive._

__

__Suddenly, a guttural voice shook the air from down below._ _

**_“I SEE YOU UP THERE.”_ **


	12. Chapter 12

Lynxheart did not want to open his eyes and look down—but he knew he had to. Standing on the shore below and glaring right up into the tree was a Dark One. 

_**“YOU CAN’T HIDE FROM ME.”**_ Its voice shook, as if it were laughing. 

_“Go away!”_ Walnutpaw wailed.

The Dark One circled the tree, its red eyes glowing tauntingly at the cats above. Lynxheart stayed completely still, not even daring to breathe.

_Maybe it can’t climb up…_

Suddenly, the Dark One leaped up into the air—far higher than Lynxheart had ever seen any cat jump. It sailed several fox-lengths upwards, nearly reaching the top of the tree. It then opened its jaws, and grabbed ahold of Lampreytail’s tail, which was dangling down from the branch he crouched on. The tabby tom screamed as he went plummeting down to the ground with the Dark One. Lynxheart closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as the sounds of agonized screeching and flesh tearing filled the air. 

And then came another sound from off in the distance; sort of a low, bellowing roar. The dreadful noises from below suddenly stopped. Lynxheart opened one eye, looking down to see the Dark One looking off towards the direction of the sound and swiveling its ears. It licked at the blood dripping from its jaws, and then, after a final seething red glare at the cats, it took off running into the distance to join its comrades. 

A bizarre mixture of relief and horror flooded Lynxheart. He swayed back and forth with lightheadedness, digging his claws into the branch to keep from falling out of the tree. Most of the other cats were still too petrified to move. The reek of blood wafted up from the ground. Scattered below were the remains of Lampreytail—pulpy red flesh and bits of gray fur. 

“Oh, StarClan…” someone moaned. 

“I—I didn’t know they could talk…” Cranepaw whispered hoarsely. 

“They can,” Lynxheart replied grimly. 

“What even are they?” the apprentice breathed. 

Lynxheart could only give a weak shrug in reply. All his energy was drained—he just wanted to curl up in the tree and sleep away the horrors. But his friends were still out there. He had to find them. 

The cats slowly slid down from the tree, all of them gagging at the sight of Lampreytail’s mangled body. Patchmoon vomited, and Lightflower looked as though she were about to pass out. 

“Sunnymist….Lampreytail…my kits…they’re gone,” she sobbed.

“You still have me,” said Icewillow, pressing her muzzle against her mother’s. 

“Where’s Bluefrost?” Ripplepaw asked in a quavering voice. 

“He was on the other patrol,” said Cranepaw. “Maybe they’re still out there somewhere.” 

“They’ve probably been torn to pieces!” Lightflower wailed. 

“How can you say that for sure when you don’t even know!?” That exclamation came from Flashpaw. “What if they’re alive? We should go search for them.” 

“I think we should, too,” Icewillow agreed. 

After they said a quick a prayer over the remains of Lampreytail, the group headed into the sparse woods beside the lakeshore. Lynxheart opened his jaws, trying to detect  
the scents of the missing cats. 

“Sunnymist,” Ripplepaw whimpered, leaning against Icewillow as they walked. “She’s gone…she died saving me. It’s my fault.” 

“No it’s not.” Icewillow tenderly licked her kit on the head. “She’ll be safe in StarClan now with our ancestors, and will watch over you.”

That’s a load of fox dung, Lynxheart snarled in his head. The ferocity of his own doubt startled him. But still, he had to wonder…was StarClan even real? He’d been taught to believe in it since he was a kit, and hadn’t ever questioned it until recently. He’d been angry at them, accused them of not caring about the living Clans…but perhaps it was possible that they didn’t exist at all? Maybe the “visions” that medicine cats had were simply just dreams? 

Lynxheart was snapped out of his dark thoughts by an exclamation from Flashpaw. 

“I smell Plumshade—she was here not too long ago!” the ginger tabby exclaimed. 

“Oh, StarClan, please let them be alright,” breathed Icewillow as they followed the trail. 

A light snow began to fall. Lynxheart fluffed up his pelt against the chilly air. His paws ached, and he felt numb with exhaustion and cold. However, he felt a burst of excitement as the scents of several nearby cats reached his scent glands. They had come across a fallen log in a clump of bushes. Suddenly, a dark shape jumped out at them—Lynxheart’s breath caught in his throat….and then he realized, with utter relief, that it was not a Dark One. Instead, it was a snarling black and ginger she-cat. 

“Plumshade!” Icewillow cried.

“Mother!” Flashpaw went running up to Plumshade, who immediately flattened her fur at the sight of her daughter. 

“Oh, Flashpaw, thank StarClan you’re safe!” she cried, nuzzling Flashpaw’s head. “Where is your father? And your brothers?”

“Pikewhisker and Blackfish were alive, last time I saw them…we got separated,” said Flashpaw. “But as for Reedwing…I’m not sure what happened to him.” 

Plumshade nodded stiffly. “After we found Redstem and Paleflame, Loontail sent me to alert the other patrol. We were heading back to camp, when we heard screaming…so we hid here. Not all of us were able to hide in time, though…a Dark One came running by, and it killed Foamfur.” 

Plumshade nodded towards the torn body of a white she-cat lying nearby. More cats emerged from the bushes—Nightpuddle, Sandblaze, Firecreek, and Bluefrost. 

“Father!” Cranepaw and Ripplepaw went running to Bluefrost, purring and rubbing up against him. He licked both his kits the head. Icewillow joined them, nuzzling her head against her mate’s. 

“Thank StarClan you’re all safe,” Bluefrost said in a choked voice.

“Are Redstem and Paleflame…are they…?” Sandblaze’s voice trembled. 

Icewillow hung her head. “They’re dead,” she said softly. “Sunnymist and Lampreytail are too.” 

_“No!”_ Firecreek screeched, while Sandblaze shut his eyes tightly and hung his head. 

“Oh StarClan, what have we ever done to deserve this?” Nightpuddle moaned, looking woefully up towards the sky.

“We should go to the camp and look for survivors,” said Bluefrost quietly. 

“I suppose we should,” Icewillow agreed. “The Dark Ones have left the camp—but we should still be on the lookout.” 

Plumshade and Nightpuddle quickly buried Foamfur’s body, and then the group made their way back to the camp. Lynxheart trembled as he walked—had Dusklight and Grebefeather been able to hide, or escape? He hadn’t seen Hemlocktail among the cats that fled, either. Lynxheart’s paws grew numb with fear; he didn’t think he could survive losing more of his Clan mates. 

The powerful stench of blood hit everyone’s nostrils when they reached the camp. Several of the cats gagged. Giant puddles of blood were smeared across the sand, dotted with piles of flesh and torn fur. Lynxheart spotted the elder Carpfang, staring sightlessly up at the sky with a huge gash in his side, and one of his legs missing. 

“Reedwing! NO!” Plumshade ran over to the shredded body of a dark brown tabby tom, and collapsed beside her slain mate. Flashpaw went to join her, her legs trembling and eyes bulging with disbelief. 

“Fintail…” Lightflower whispered, staring down at what was left of a silver tom. "My mate...not you too..." 

“Here’s Loontail,” said Patchmoon grimly, looking down at the limp LakeClan deputy, whose pelt was covered in deep bite wounds. His jaws were parted in a silent yowl, capturing the terror and pain he’d experienced in his last moments. Lynxheart bowed his head, feeling a wave of grief for the noble, kind deputy who had made him and the other ForestClan cats feel at home in LakeClan’s camp. 

Then, he remembered Dusklight. He ran for the medicine den, squeezing into the narrow stone tunnel.

“Dusklight!?” he called. “Hemlocktail!? Grebefeather!?” 

The medicine den was empty. All the herb stocks were intact, and there was no sign of a struggle—however, a fairly fresh scent of fear clung to the damp, dark air. Lyxnheart let out a heavy sigh, nearly falling over with relief. 

_They must have been hiding in here…oh please, be safe somewhere…_

As Lynxheart exited the medicine den, he heard the LakeClan cats arguing.

“We need to go find the others,” said Nightpuddle.

“But we have to bury our dead!” Lightflower protested. 

“We don’t have time to bury everyone,” Nightpuddle sighed. “We have to find our living Clan mates and make sure they are safe. I don’t like being here…the Dark Ones could come back at any moment.” 

Lynxheart sympathized with the black she-cat; he remembered how tense and afraid he had felt standing in the ForestClan camp, torn between staying and burying his slain Clan mates, or fleeing for his life. 

Plumshade got to her paws, her eyes glazed over with grief. “Nightpuddle is right,” she said. “These cats we have lost would have wanted us to get to safety.”

“We must hurry—the rest of our Clan must be worried sick about us,” said Icewillow, pressing up against the trembling Lightflower. 

 

They left the camp and headed back into the woods. Some walked quickly, determined to get away from the site where the carnage had occurred, while others stumbled, their eyes staring blankly ahead. At one point, Lightflower let out a loud moan and collapsed, too grief-stricken to move any further. It took a while for the others to encourage her to get back up. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll be at the other side of the lake soon,” Cranepaw told her. 

Lynxheart felt a flicker of admiration towards the apprentice—he was hardly older than a kit, and yet was acting so calm and collected. 

It seemed like an eternity until they finally reached the opposite end of the lake. Out past the shore, they could see where the ice had shattered and formed a pool in the center. Lynxheart shuddered, trying to force the image of a Dark One pulling Sunnymist down into the murky depths. 

“There are paw prints leading into the woods here,” said Nightpuddle, pointing them out. “If we keep going north, we’ll probably run into them.”

A light snow began to fall. Tiny white flakes swirled around, steadily becoming larger and larger, until they covered the ground in a thick layer.

“Fox dung!” Sandblaze spat, furiously lashing out at the snow with a paw. “We’ll be forced to stay put somewhere if this keeps up!”

“There’s an old badger set nearby,” said Firecreek. “We could take shelter there, if we need to.”

Soon the snow was coming down so heavily that Lynxheart had to blink it out of his eyes. Sandblaze gave up and let Firecreek lead the group towards a cluster of poplar trees, where a few empty badger dens were visible. Lynxheart joined Icewillow and her family as they crawled into one of them. 

“Who’s going to mentor me now that Sunnymist is gone?” Ripplepaw whimpered.

Icewillow curled around her daughter and comfortingly stroked her pelt with her tongue. “Don’t worry, I’m sure Shellstar will pick another cat who is a good match for you,” she said. 

A chilling breeze blew into the den. Lynxheart curled up tightly, tucking his nose under the tip of his tail. Pressing up against the warmth of Bluefrost’s pelt, he let his eyes close and exhaustion overtake him. 

 

Lynxheart didn’t know where he was. Everything was so dark. He could see the vague outlines of trees, but other than that, he was standing in a barren, black forest.

“Hello!?” he cried out, fear freezing him to the spot. “Is anyone there? Where am I!?”

He looked up at the sky, wondering if it was night, but there were no stars visible. The heavens were a solid, deep black void. Lynxheart opened his mouth, desperately trying to pick up the scent of any other cats nearby, but there were none. He could scent nothing, except for a faint trace of something rotting. 

And then, he heard the swish of nearby bracken. Lynxheart trembled, unsheathing his claws.

“Who—who’s there!?” he stammered. 

A pair of orange eyes was glowing in the darkness, staring right at him. For one brief, heart-stopping moment, Lynxheart thought that a Dark One had found him--but no--those were definitely the eyes of a cat. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” The unseen stranger’s voice was hoarse and ragged.

“Who are you?” Lynxheart demanded to know.

“That doesn’t matter. You just need to listen to me, and listen well.”

The cat’s fire colored eyes seemed to burn right into Lynxheart. “StarClan has abandoned you and your friends. You can only look out for yourselves from now on.” 

“Wh…what?” Lynxheart stuttered. “What do you mean?” 

But the eyes were fading away. Everything was becoming darker and darker, until there was absolute nothingness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LakeClan family tree:
> 
> https://i.imgur.com/nuwIOnk.png


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the * start this music:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMQeGubna3E

“Lynxheart?” 

“Aaah!” Lynxheart jolted upwards, hitting his head painfully on the wall of the den.

“Sorry! You were twitching and crying out in your sleep,” Cranepaw whispered. His blue eyes were glowing with concern in the dim light. 

“Yeah…I’m fine.” Lynxheart quickly smoothed down his rumpled golden tabby pelt. “I just had a strange dream, is all.”

Pinkish light was flowing into the entrance of the den—Lynxheart guessed that they had slept past sundown and through the night, and it was now dawn. Icewillow and Ripplepaw were stirring, and Lynxheart caught a glimpse of Bluefrost sitting by the den outside, as if he was keeping guard. 

“Sunnymist,” Ripplepaw mumbled, still half asleep. 

Lynxheart’s head whirled as the events of the previous day came rushing into his head. He was hit with a wave of fresh terror as he remembered all the cats whose whereabouts he still didn’t know. 

_Was that dream I had real? Has StarClan really abandoned us?_

Lynxheart carefully crept out of the den and was startled to see how much snow had fallen during the night—it seemed at least half a tail length deep. A few cats had emerged from the other dens, and were shuffling through the snow. 

Suddenly, a nearby bush rustled. Everyone immediately jumped. They stood with their backs arched and hackles rising, their breath caught in their throats as the rustling grew louder. Then, a black shape jumped out. 

“No!” Lynxheart moaned. He shut his eyes. 

But then, a cry from Flashpaw made him open them. 

“Blackfish!”

A few moments later, Pikewhisker slid out of the undergrowth as well. Flashpaw and Plumshade ran to greet the two toms, purring loudly. 

“You’re alive!” Pikewhisker cried in a choked voice as he and Blackfish rubbed heads with their mother and sister. “We thought the Dark Ones might have gotten you…Shellstar sent out a patrol to find any other survivors.” 

Three more cats emerged from the bushes—Grayspots, Cherryleaf, and Tulipwhisker. Lynxheart barreled towards them, yowling with joy.

“I thought you’d drowned!” he exclaimed, rubbing his cheek affectionately against Grayspots’s.

“I nearly did,” said Grayspots, returning the gesture. “But Cherryleaf jumped into the lake, grabbed ahold of me, and pulled me out! She was amazing!” 

“It was nothing, really,” said Cherryleaf shyly. “I used to swim in the ponds back in the ForestClan territory when I was an apprentice.”

“Lynxheart, you dumb furball,” Tulipwhisker sighed heavily with relief as she rubbed pelts with her brother. “When we lost sight of you, we feared the worst.” 

“Is everyone else okay?” Lynxheart asked anxiously.

“Everyone from ForestClan is accounted for, except for Dusklight and Hemlocktail,” said Tulipwhisker. “We can’t find them anywhere. But our other Clan mates and the LakeClan survivors are waiting for us over near the river.” 

“I think Dusklight and Hemlocktail hid in the medicine den with Grebefeather when the Dark Ones attacked,” said Lynxheart. “We went back to the camp, and didn’t see their bodies, so I guess they fled somewhere.” 

He tried to sound confident, but the fact that Dusklight and Hemlocktail still hadn’t been found made his mouth go dry with fear. 

“Oh, let’s hope,” said Tulipwhisker. 

“Sunnymist died,” said Lynxheart quietly, looking down at his paws.

“I know.” Tulipwhisker’s voice was raw with grief. “I saw the Dark One pull her down into the lake. Great StarClan, what a terrible way to die.” 

“We’ve lost Lampreytail, Carpfang, Redstem, Paleflame, Reedwing, Fintail, and Foamfur as well,” Bluefrost added grimly.

“Oh no,” Pikewhisker whispered, hanging his head. 

“Why would StarClan do this to us!?” Blackfish yowled. 

“Yesterday was an incredibly dark day for LakeClan.” Bluefrost’s voice was sad, yet calm. “We have never lost so many cats at once before, and we will miss them all terribly. However, we need to get moving and reunite with our living Clan mates. We could still be in danger.”

 

They traveled north, the direction of a river valley beyond LakeClan’s territory. As they headed along, the rumbling of the huge, swift river could be heard in the distance, steadily growing louder. Eventually, they reached a narrow part of the river, which had a fallen tree lying across it. Lynxheart flinched at the sight of the powerful waves swirling along and tossing up globs of white foam. However, he followed the others in climbing on to the tree trunk and carefully walking across it. 

Lynxheart looked around as he crossed the river, scanning both shores for any cat-like movement. Where were Dusklight and Hemlocktail right now? Were they safe? Would they be able to find the rest of the group? What if they…

One of Lynxheart’s hind paws slipped on a wet spot on the tree, and he went falling down towards the river. Yowling, he dug his claws into the bark, dangling above the rushing river and desperately kicking his legs to get back up. Lynxheart sighed with relief as Tulipwhisker and Grayspots came over, each grabbing one of his forelegs and hauling him up.

“You should be more careful,” Tulipwhisker growled. Though her voice sounded angry, her eyes were full of pain, indicating that she’d been afraid of losing Lynxheart. 

They eventually had all reached the end of the tree. Just ahead of the group towered a sort of miniature stone cliff, with a large, gaping cave at its base. The scents of several cats wafted from it, several of them familiar. Lynxheart let out a sigh of relief as he saw the faces of Firpaw and Starlingwind peering out of the entrance. As soon as they saw them, they both gave loud yowls of delight. Firpaw went running to Patchmoon and her brothers, while Starlingwind slipped back inside the cave to tell the other occupants the good news. Soon they were all gathered around inside, touching noses and rapidly talking with each other. Shellstar made her way into the center of the crowd and lifted her tail, signaling for a meeting. Everyone gathered in a semicircle around the LakeClan leader and quieted down as she spoke. 

“I am glad that most of us have survived this terrible ordeal, and that we’re together again. However, we’ve lost several cats to the Dark Ones, and some are still missing, including our dear Grebefeather. And the first cat we lost was our deputy, Loontail.” Shellstar’s voice cracked on the last few words. A heavy sadness clouded her pale yellow eyes as she continued. “But, life must go on. I will now choose a new deputy. I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirit of Loontail may hear and approve of my choice.”

After a brief, quiet pause, Shellstar said, “Bluefrost will be the new deputy of LakeClan.”

The crowd erupted into cheers, the loudest being from Icewillow, Cranepaw, and Ripplepaw. Lynxheart dipped his head as Bluefrost walked past him to the center of the circle—he thought that Shellstar had made a good choice; Bluefrost was an incredibly brave cat, and had managed to keep everyone calm amidst yesterday’s chaos. 

The gray tabby’s blue eyes shone as he touched noses with his leader. “I promise I will do my best as deputy. I won’t let you down, Shellstar, or my Clan mates.” 

At that moment, Lynxheart heard a faint whisper in his ear. 

_The Dark Ones are coming. You have to escape, now._

***** Lynxheart whirled around, but saw no one behind him. His fur rose to twice its size. Had that been the cat he’d seen in his dream last night? It kind of sounded like him. 

“Lynxheart, what’s wrong!?” Tulipwhisker hurried to his side.

“The Dark Ones are coming!” Lynxheart blurted out as terror consumed him and scrambled his thoughts. 

“What!?” Shellstar exclaimed. “Lynxheart, what do you mean?” 

“I…I’ve been able to sense them coming before, in the past…” Lynxheart stammered. It was the only way he knew how to explain it. “We have to get out of here!” 

Panicked yowls rang out among the crowd, and some cats darted towards the cave entrance.

“Wait!” Shellstar ordered. “Stay together until we know what’s going on!” 

She turned back to Lynxheart and asked him, “How close do you think they are?” 

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I just know we need to get out of here _now._ ”

“How do you know that?” Sandblaze narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Lynxheart. “If you can sense the Dark Ones, then why didn’t you warn us before they attacked our camp?”

“I couldn’t sense them then…I…I guess it only works sometimes.” Lynxheart fought to keep his jaw from trembling as he spoke.

There was more anxious murmuring, and a few frightened wails. And then, a voice spoke out above them all. 

“Hey, look at this!” It was Flashpaw, standing in the very back of the cave and pointing something out with her paw. “There’s a little tunnel back here! We could use it to escape!” 

Plumshade hurried over to her daughter. “There is a tunnel there!” she exclaimed. “But it looks very narrow…I think only one cat at a time could fit, and it’s really dark. I can’t see where it goes, but it definitely goes a long way.” 

Sure enough, Lynxheart could see a small, dark space about a tail-length high. Suddenly, an alarmed yowl came from Starlingwind, who was peering out of the cave entrance. 

“I see a few Dark Ones!” he cried. “They’re running towards us, but they’re far down the opposite shore. We have some time to get away!” 

Chaos broke out, as cats hurried for the tunnel, shoving each other out of the way. 

“STOP!” Shellstar wedged her way into the middle of the crowd, hissing ferociously and swatting at everyone with unsheathed claws. 

“We will go one at a time!” she ordered sharply. “The apprentices and younger warriors will go first. Please stop panicking. As Starlingwind said, we have time. He will keep watch on the Dark Ones.” 

Patchmoon nudged his kits towards the tunnel.

“But Father, we can’t leave you!” Sprucepaw cried. 

“I’ll be right behind you,” Patchmoon promised. “You three stay close together.” 

Sprucepaw reluctantly slipped into the tunnel, followed by Walnutpaw and Firpaw. 

“I’m not going until my family goes first,” said Flashpaw. 

“We’ll be right behind you then,” said Plumshade, touching her nose to her daughter’s. 

“Firecreek, come with us,” Flashpaw pleaded her mentor.

Firecreek dipped her head. “I’ll be fine, Flashpaw,” she said. “But I’m going to stay here and help everyone get out. I promise I’ll see you on the other side.” 

Plumshade nudged Flashpaw into the tunnel, and then gestured for Blackfish and Pikewhisker to go in before she herself disappeared into the space. 

“They’re getting closer!” Starlingwind warned. 

Cranepaw and Ripplepaw were sent into the tunnel next, followed by Icewillow. Bluefrost offered to stay and help cats get out, but Shellstar shook her head. 

“You’re our new deputy—I have to make sure you survive,” his leader told him. “And your family can’t afford to lose you again.”

Bluefrost opened his mouth, as if to protest, but then dipped his head to Shellstar and crawled into the tunnel. Firecreek went to stand by the cave entrance with Starlingwind while Shellstar sat by the tunnel, sending one cat in after another. Lynxheart paced anxiously around, torn between the instinct to flee into the safe darkness of the passageway, and the need to stay and protect his companions. He envied every cat that slipped away, feeling the urge to join them, but his conscious told him to let everyone go before him. 

At last, there were just a few cats left. Grayspots had just squeezed into the tunnel after Cherryleaf when Starlingwind cried out, “The Dark Ones are crossing the tree!” 

He and Firecreek hurried towards the back of the cave where Lynxheart, Tulipwhisker, and Shellstar were standing by the tunnel entrance. Lynxheart’s hackles rose as he felt a slight pulsating sensation in the air. Above the roaring of the river, he could just hear the snarling of the Dark Ones. 

But then, all of a sudden, the pulsing grew much rapider and stronger. A flash of black went flying into the cave, much faster than Starlingwind and Firecreek were running. The Dark One bared its fangs, its glowing red eyes glowering hatefully. 

Starlingwind screeched, becoming a brown blur as he fled for the exit. However, he was so panicked he failed to duck in time. Starlingwind’s head collided with the stone above the gap, and he went sprawling over on his side. Tulipwhisker leaped protectively over her Clan mate, hissing ferociously at the Dark One.

 _It’s no use, Tulipwhisker!_ Lynxheart screamed in his head. _We’re all going to die!_

Suddenly, Firecreek was running straight at the Dark One. “You stay away from my friends, you stinking beast!” she screeched. Lynxheart’s jaw dropped as the dark ginger she-cat leaped at the Dark One’s face, her claws outstretched. She landed just above its muzzle, and sank her fangs into the black fur on the top of its head. The Dark One let out an enraged roar that shook the cave walls. It whipped its head around, dislodging Firecreek and sending her flying through the air. She landed several fox-lengths away, hitting the stone floor with a sickening _smack._

“Firecreek!” Lynxheart yowled. 

At that moment, two more Dark Ones came running into the cave. All three monsters surrounded Firecreek, who was lying stunned.

“There’s nothing we can do for her!” Shellstar’s voice was sharp and high-pitched with pain. “She’s buying us time— _get moving!_ ”

Suddenly, the LakeClan leader grabbed Lynxheart and shoved him into the tunnel. Reluctantly, he crawled forward into the darkness. He pinned down his ears and closed his eyes as the wails of a cat in great agony and the sounds of tearing flesh echoed from the cave.


	14. Chapter 14

The passageway was long, winding, and painfully narrow. The walls scraped at Lynxheart’s sides as he made his way through the darkness. The air was musty and suffocating, and thick with the scent of fear from several cats. Lynxheart could sense Tulipwhisker and Starlingwind crawling behind him, but it did little to ease his terror. His heart banged wildly in his chest as he gasped for air; was he going to asphyxiate before he reached the other end? Had Firecreek’s sacrifice been for nothing? Her screams had subsided, but the faint growls and roars of the Dark Ones still drifted down the tunnel.

Lynxheart winced as pointy stones poked at his side. He pulled himself through a tight bend, yelping as the stones painfully scraped his flesh. Warm blood trickled through his fur. Gritting his teeth, Lynxheart looked forward and saw…light! It seemed to be filtering down from up above. He shouted the good news to the cats behind him, and scrabbled towards the brightness. The tunnel widened, and curved upwards. A series of stony ledges led up to the top; Lynxheart and the others easily scrambled up them, and out into the open. 

A wide expanse of stone stretched out before them, bordered by what appeared to be a lake, although smaller than the one in LakeClan’s territory. Cliffs towered above in the distance, casting the area in shadows. All the refugees were there—some looked scratched and battered from the tunnel’s rough walls, but they were all alive. 

“They made it!” Flashpaw came running over to the hole just as Shellstar emerged from it. The apprentice came to a halt and asked, “Wait…where’s Firecreek?”

Lynxheart and Tulipwhisker exchanged a pained glance. How were they going to break the news to Firecreek’s apprentice?

“Flashpaw, I’m sorry,” said Shellstar thickly. “But Firecreek is dead.”

“What!?” Flashpaw shrieked. She pinned back her ears, slowly shaking her head, as if she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. “No, she can’t be dead. She said she would see me on the other side!”

“I’m afraid it’s true,” Shellstar told the apprentice softly. “We were the last ones to get out. As we were making our escape, the Dark Ones came running into the cave. Firecreek distracted them while we got away, and they killed her.” 

“You just left her to die!?” Flashpaw wailed. Her amber eyes glazed over in anguish. “How could you abandon her like that!?”

“We would have helped her if we could,” Shellstar choked. “It just all happened so fast. Firecreek leaped at them, and they surrounded her very quickly. There was nothing any of us could do. We didn’t want her sacrifice to be in vain, so…we fled.” 

“No!” Flashpaw collapsed to the ground, crying out in agony. “Firecreek…oh, Firecreek…you promised to meet me here!”

Lynxheart bowed his head, grief for the courageous she-cat swamping him. 

_Firecreek was braver than I’ll ever be,_ he thought. _When the Dark Ones came into the cave, I just stood there, not knowing what to do. I’m a coward._

News of Firecreek’s death swept through the crowd, earning gasps and wails of horror and grief. Shellstar signaled with her tail for everyone to gather for a meeting. 

“We have just lost a brave and valuable warrior,” said the LakeClan leader. “Firecreek sacrificed herself so we could escape from the Dark Ones. We will never forget her. May StarClan light her path as she goes to join them.” 

Everyone bowed their heads. The crowd fell silent for a few long, solemn moments. Then, Shellstar spoke again.

“However, there is something that I would like to do in her honor.” She beckoned for Flashpaw to come over to her. 

“Flashpaw, you discovered the tunnel that saved all our lives, and you offered to wait until others had gone through,” said Shellstar. “That was a very brave, selfless thing to do. You have earned the right to become a warrior.”

Flashpaw’s eyes widened, her grief giving away to disbelief. “What, really!?” she cried. 

Shellstar nodded. “Flashpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Flashfire, in honor of your mentor. StarClan values your courage and passion, and we welcome you as a full member of LakeClan.”

Flashfire trembled, as if unable to take everything in. Shellstar touched her chin to Flashfire’s head; the young she-cat then remembered the customs of the ritual, and respectfully licked her leader’s shoulder. 

“Flashfire! Flashfire!” The crowd cheered. Lynxheart felt his spirits lift as he cried out the new name—Firecreek would live on, in this newly made warrior.

“And now, let us remember the other cats we have lost,” said Shellstar. “Loontail, our deputy. Foamfur, my dear sister. Carpfang, Redstem, and Paleflame, our beloved elders. The brave warriors Reedwing, Fintail, Lampreytail, and Sunnymist. Let us honor them in a moment of silence.”

As everyone fell quiet, confused thoughts swirled around in Lynxheart’s head. 

_A lot more cats would be dead now if I hadn’t had that strange warning. Who was it from? And why didn’t they warn me about the other attacks?_

“Shellstar?” Nightpuddle spoke up once the short vigil had ended. “Where are we going to go now? I don’t think it’s safe back in the camp.”

Suddenly, Lynxheart was struck with an idea. As he gazed off towards the cliffs, he remembered when he and Dusklight had visited CliffClan’s camp.

“What if we head to CliffClan?” he suggested. “Their camp is encircled by tall rock walls. It would be difficult for the Dark Ones to launch an attack there.”

Shellstar stared at Lynxheart for a few moments, as if processing the thought, and then slowly nodded. 

“Drizzlestar is a kind cat, I’m sure he’ll understand,” she said. “I just hope there will be enough room for us all in that camp.”

Shellstar turned to Peachglow. “You’ve traveled to CliffClan’s camp many a time before. Will you show us the way?”

“Of course,” the messenger cat replied, dipping her head. 

 

The cats headed up into the stony mountains. The younger and weaker cats were kept in the center of the crowd, while the stronger, more experienced warriors flanked them, keeping a constant eye out for the Dark Ones. Lynxheart was alarmed as he smelled blood, and saw Tulipwhisker limping. 

“What’s wrong?” he cried, pushing his way through the crowd towards his sister. 

“I cut my pad open on a sharp rock in that tunnel.” Tulipwhisker winced, lifting up her forepaw to show a bleeding slash across her pad. 

“Here, lean against me,” Lynxheart offered.

“No, I’m fine,” Tulipwhisker insisted. “I’ll rest once we find a place to stop.” 

“No, you need help.” Starlingwind came up to her, talking in a firm voice. “That wound looks deep. If you keep putting weight on that paw, you may not be able to use it soon.”

Tulipwhisker sighed. “Alright, fine,” she said, leaning against the mottled tabby.

Lynxheart gave a slight snort of amusement. Tulipwhisker had protected Starlingwind back in the cave; now he seemed to want to return the favor. 

As they walked up further into the cliffs, Lynxheart stared out at the forest below. 

_Where are you, Dusklight?_ he thought. _Are you and Hemlocktail staying safe?_

Never before had Lynxheart felt such fear for another cat. He wanted to yowl out loud for Dusklight, longed to a flash of his dark ginger fur…but he could not even pick up a trace of his scent. He tried not to picture the messenger cat lying on the ground, his body torn into bloody pieces, and bright amber eyes staring blankly up at the sky…

“Hey, Lynxheart!” Grayspots was calling to him. The spotted gray tom pointed with his tail towards a clearing that the group seemed to be stopping at. Tulipwhisker lay down, licking at her bleeding paw. Lynxheart suddenly remembered the scratches on his side from where the rocks had scraped him in the tunnel, and craned his head to lick away the drying blood. 

“I’m so tired…I’ve never walked so far in my life!” Cranepaw panted as he sank down to his haunches. Ripplepaw did the same, sitting beside her brother with her tongue lolling out. 

“I’m proud of both of you,” Bluefrost purred to his kits. “You’ve kept up with everyone without complaining the entire time.”

“We’ll settle here for the night,” said Shellstar, looking up at the sky, which was tinged with the orange light of early dusk. “I’d like some hunting patrols to go out and try to find prey.”

Lynxheart’s stomach gurgled. He was just now realizing how hungry he was. 

“I can lead a patrol,” he offered. He needed something to distract him from worrying about Dusklight.

Shellstar nodded gratefully to Lynxheart. 

“I’ll come with you,” Grayspots volunteered. Cherryleaf, Thornfire, and Eagledawn also joined them. Starlingwind stayed behind, looking for cobwebs to wrap Tulipwhisker’s paw in. 

“Do you think something’s going on between those two?” Grayspots murmured in Lynxheart’s ear as they headed into a slightly wooded area. 

“Ha, probably not,” Lynxheart replied. “Honestly, I think my sister’s too independent and stubborn to settle down with a tom.” 

Grayspots shrugged. “If you say so.” 

Lynxheart dropped his voice down to a quiet whisper. “Is there something going on between you and Cherryleaf?” 

“What? N—no!” Grayspots exclaimed, his fur bristling. 

“What’s wrong?” Cherryleaf asked, walking a few tail-lengths behind them.

“It’s nothing,” said Grayspots quickly. 

The patrol spread out slightly to hunt, although kept each other within the corners of their vision. For a moment, Lynxheart expected dark shapes with red eyes to come rushing up to them at any time—however, his fear was soon replaced with hunger, as he detected the scent of a nearby grouse. He spotted the dark brown bird just a few fox-lengths away, pecking at the ground with its back turned to Lynxheart. It was small and scrawny, but it would still feed someone. 

Lynxheart crept towards the grouse, stepping lightly as to not create noise. He was just a tail-length away from his prey, when suddenly the grouse let out a startled squawk and fluttered up into the air. Lynxheart cursed under his breath…but then he realized that the grouse had not been startled by him, but by vibrations trembling through the air, steadily getting stronger. 

_“RUN!”_ Lynxheart screamed before he even saw the black shape flying into the woods. He ran blindly ahead, his surroundings blurry and his heart pounding. The air seemed to pulse in sync to his rapid heartbeat as the unearthly roar of the Dark One filled his ears: _**“DIE, YOU DISGUSTING CREATURES!”**_

Up ahead, Lynxheart caught a glimpse of Grayspots darting into a thorny briar patch. Lynxheart sped up, launching himself through a narrow space in the brambles. The thorns tore at his fur, but he hardly noticed as he wriggled desperately through the briar. He caught flashes of light brown and ginger fur up ahead—it seemed that Cherryleaf, Thornfire, and Eagledawn were struggling through the thorns as well. 

_CRASSSHHH!!_ The sound of brambles being torn apart exploded behind the cats. Lynxheart crawled under a low-hanging bramble, pushing himself through the tight, thorny space as the thunderous snarling of the Dark One filled his ears.

 _ **“YOU CAN’T ESCAPE!”**_ it taunted the cats. 

Lynxheart kept hurrying ahead, scrambling through the seemingly endless maze of brambles. Eventually, he saw light up ahead. Gasping, he burst through a gap, and ran across a stony path on the other side.

“Lynxheart, watch out!” 

He skidded to a halt as he realized that he and his Clan mates were on a narrow wedge of stone that jutted out from the cliff and ended abruptly, right over the river. The water roared and frothed threateningly below. Lynxheart exchanged frightened glances with the others as the Dark One continued to crash through the brambles from behind—they were at a dead end. Would they have to jump? 

“Look!” Thornfire suddenly cried. He pointed upward with his paw at a higher ledge, just a few tail-lengths above It hugged the cliff wall and led back up towards the woods.

“I think we can jump up there!” Thornfire yowled over the cacophony of the river and the Dark One. 

Suddenly, there was a blur of movement as something came running out onto the stone ledge. Another cat came skidding to a halt, snarling and blocking the way to the ledge up above them. Lynxheart’s blood turned to ice as he realized who it was. 

“Going somewhere?” hissed Silversnake.


	15. Chapter 15

“Silversnake!” Eagledawn cried out. “You’re alive? What…what are you doing here?” 

Silversnake didn’t answer. He only unsheathed his claws, his blue eyes gleaming with an icy glare. 

“We have to get up to that ledge!” Thornfire cried. “You’re blocking the way!” 

“Too bad!” Silversnake spat. He pulled back his lips to reveal his fangs. “I want all of ForestClan dead—the Dark One will be here soon to finish you off.”

“Wait, what!?” Eagledawn screeched.

“Silversnake, please,” Lynxheart breathed. “Let us go.” 

“Well, if you don’t want to be torn apart by the Dark One, you can always jump into the river down below,” the silver tabby nodded towards the end of the ledge. “Drowning is probably a less awful way to die than being ripped apart.” 

“You’ve gone mad!” Thornfire exclaimed. 

“It’s all thanks to you, Thornfire.” Silversnake’s voice dripped with venom. “I bet you’re regretting treating me like crow-food now, aren’t you?” 

Silversnake stepped threateningly towards Thornfire. Suddenly, Eagledawn went flying through the air, slamming into Silversnake’s side and pinning him down on the stone. 

“Get up to the other ledge!” she yowled at the others. “I’ll take care of him!” 

“No, Mother, we’re not leaving you!” Cherryleaf cried. 

“Get moving!” Eagledawn spat as Silversnake writhed beneath her, screeching and raking his hind claws across her belly.

The bramble screen behind them was turning black, and the air pulsed violently. Without a second thought, Lynxheart gathered up all the strength he could in his haunches, and sprang high into the air. His claws gripped the edge of the ledge up above, and he pulled himself up. As he scrambled up towards level ground, he could hear Grayspots, Thornfire, and Cherryleaf behind him. A blood curdling screech came from down below, startling Lynxheart and causing his paws to slip. He dug into the stone hard with his claws, his muscles crying out in pain as he forced himself up over the rocky lip. Moments later, the others hauled themselves up beside him. 

_“REEERRR!!!”_ More screaming erupted into the air. 

“Eagledawn!” Cherryleaf cried out for her mother. The four young cats peered down, watching helplessly as Eagledaw and Silversnake writhed on the ledge. Lynxheart gasped—he could just see the black head of the Dark One peering out of the brambles. But instead of attacking, it was standing still, watching the two cats fight. Its red eyes shone, as if it were amused.

Silversnake’s paws were stained crimson as he viciously tore into Eagledawn’s pelt. The ginger she-cat, however, had a firm grip on him, and was doing quite a bit of damage herself. There were long, slashed marks across Silversnake’s belly and chest. The two cats rolled dangerously close to the end of the cliff, seeming unaware of this as they wildly clawed at each other. 

“Look out!” Lynxheart yowled to them. 

It was too late. For one heart-stopping second, Eagledawn and Silvernake teetered precariously at the edge of the cliff. And then, both of them went plummeting down in a screaming whirlwind of ginger and silver.

“Mother!” Cherryleaf and Thornfire wailed in unison. 

“Oh StarClan, no…” Lynxheart moaned, his mouth going dry. 

“We have to get out of here!” Grayspots cried. “That Dark One might find a way up here—Eagledawn wanted us to get away!”

“My mother…is gone…” Cherryleaf whimpered. Her green eyes were wide with disbelief as she trembled like a kit.

“I know,” said Grayspots soothingly, licking her between the ears. “But we have to go.” 

 

The moment they returned to the group, everyone immediately knew something was wrong, and jumped to their paws. Upon hearing about what happened, Shellstar ordered for them to keep moving further up into the cliffs. As everyone else hurried along, Cherryleaf stumbled, pressing her face into Grayspot’s shoulder and softly sobbing. Thornfire trembled as he sprinted across the stony terrain, his amber eyes round and glazed over.

Eventually, they grew exhausted, and had to stop. The cats rested on a mound of boulders, panting heavily. 

“Great StarClan…you don’t suppose Silversnake has been following us this whole time?” Grayspots whispered in Lynxheart’s ear. 

“I don’t know,” Lynxheart whispered back. “But don’t speak about him.” 

They hadn’t mentioned Silversnake to the others—they’d only said that a Dark One had chased them to the edge of a cliff, and that Eagledawn had fallen off. Cherryleaf and Thornfire of course knew that wasn’t the exact truth, but for now, they were too shaken up to speak.

But would it matter now, if everyone knew that Silversnake had been working with the Dark Ones? He was most likely dead.

Lynxheart tried to distract himself by pulling burrs and thorns from his pelt, which he was just now noticing. His fur was torn and bleeding in several places; he licked at the wounds, wincing as a thorn that was hidden beneath his fur pierced his tongue. 

Up above, the sky began to darken as heavy gray clouds rolled in. Lynxheart stopped licking himself and glowered upwards. This was wrong—so wrong. Too many terrible things had happened. Lynxheart had had enough. 

“Curse you, StarClan! Haven’t we lost enough cats already!?” 

Gasps and startled looks rang out. Lynxheart realized with horror that he’d shouted that out loud. 

“How dare you curse StarClan?” Nightpuddle hissed, narrowing her bright blue eyes at Lynxheart. “If it weren’t for them looking out for us, we’d _all_ be dead by now!”

Rage boiled up inside Lynxheart. He was about to snap back at the black she-cat, but then Grayspots scooted close to him, and comfortingly stroked his friend’s pelt with his tongue. 

“I know it’s hard to have faith right now,” he murmured sympathetically.

Suddenly, several cats turned their heads in the same direction. Swiveling his ears, Lynxheart could make out the faint sound of paw steps. Two cats jumped up on the boulders—one burly and one slender. A moment later, he recognized them.

“Bearpelt! Bramblesnow!” he cried, his anger giving away to surprised relief. He recognized the CliffClan warriors from the time he and Dusklight had visited their camp.

“We saw you coming,” said Bramblesnow, dipping her head. “We have a very tall stone in our territory that we use as a lookout—we could see all of you heading up the cliff.” 

“The Dark Ones attacked LakeClan’s camp,” said Shellstar grimly. “Several of our warriors are dead, and the Dark Ones are after us. But we heard that your camp is much better guarded than ours…could we please stay there, for the time being?” 

“We know what has happened,” said Bearpelt with a nod. “Your friends told us.” 

More cats were scrambling up onto the boulders. Lynxheart froze. He stared in disbelief at the newcomers, his jaw dropping. 

“Lynxheart!” Dusklight yowled, leaping across the boulders to him. 

“Dusklight…you’re…you’re alive!” Lynxheart choked. He fell against his best friend, pressing his face deep into his shoulder. He was so relieved he couldn’t even speak. Loud purrs shook his whole body. 

“Thank StarClan you’re alright,” said Dusklight in a shaky voice, tenderly licking Lynxheart’s head. 

The other two cats who were with Dusklight—Hemlocktail and Grebefeather—weaved among their relieved Clan mates. 

“We were in the medicine den when the Dark Ones attacked,” Hemlocktail explained. “We stayed in there, and then snuck out. We weren’t sure where you had gone, so we decided to go to CliffClan for help.” 

Grebefeather nodded. “Drizzlestar figured you all might come to the CliffClan camp, so we kept a watch out for you at the lookout.” 

“So…most everyone survived?” Hemlocktail stopped beside Lynxheart, who turned away from Dusklight for just a split second to touch heads with the medicine cat. 

“Mostly,” said Lynxheart. Pain crept into his voice as he added, “But ForestClan had one casualty…Eagledawn. We ran into the Dark Ones again, and they chased her off a ledge.” 

“Oh no.” Hemlocktail bowed his head and closed his eyes. “StarClan be with her.” 

“Sunnymist and Firecreek died on the way here,” said Shellstar, mostly to Grebefeather. “They both sacrificed themselves to protect the rest of us from the Dark Ones.” 

“Those wretched creatures!” Grebefeather spat, unsheathing her claws. “Why do they want us all dead?”

“At least we’ve been able to find you,” said Shellstar, her voice heavy with relief. “I don’t know what LakeClan would do without our medicine cat. And ForestClan has suffered so much, they needn’t lose their medicine and messenger cat.” 

As they climbed further upwards towards CliffClan’s camp, Lynxheart’s joy upon reuniting with Dusklight melted away into fear. How was he going to tell him about Silversnake? And he knew Cherryleaf and Thornfire wouldn’t keep silent about what happened with him and their mother. How was the rest of ForestClan going to take the news? 

Dusklight gave Lynxheart a concerned look, as if sensing that something was wrong. Lynxheart quickly changed his expression to a happy one, and pressed his cheek against Dusklight’s with a purr.

_At least I have you back,_ he thought.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the * start playing this music:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0YxeTjFn70

As the ForestClan and LakeClan warriors squeezed through the small gap in the tall boulders that surrounded CliffClan’s camp, two cats immediately came running up to meet them. Lynxheart recognized them as Drizzlestar, the leader, and Robinsong, the deputy. All over the camp, the CliffClan cats stopped what they were doing and stared at the newcomers.

“Welcome, everyone.” Drizzlestar dipped his head to the crowd. “I am terribly saddened to hear of the tragedy that has struck ForestClan and LakeClan. You are welcome to stay as long as you need. As you can see, our camp is quite large—there’s plenty of space.” 

Drizzlestar was right—it was quite a wide open camp, and heavily guarded. It looked like the perfect place to take refuge. However, some of the CliffClan cats were eyeing the guests with less than happy looks. 

“Don’t tell me we’re going to have more mouths to feed this leaf-bare,” Lynxheart heard a tom named Gustfur mumble to one of his Clan mates. 

“Who are all these strange cats!?” A dark ginger tom-kit whose fur was speckled with sandy flecks was bouncing across the clearing towards them. 

“They’re from the other Clans,” said a gray and sandy she-cat who was following him, obviously his mother. 

Another kit, this one a gray and ginger female, came up to Tulipwhisker and sniffed her. “They smell weird!” she said, wrinkling her nose.

“Dawnkit, don’t be rude!” Her mother hissed. “Come. Let’s get you and Russetkit back into the nursery. It’s too cold for you to be out.” 

Drizzlestar climbed up the rocky wall of the camp and onto a ledge, where he summoned everyone together for a meeting. 

“As you all have heard, the Dark Ones attacked ForestClan and LakeClan’s camps,” the CliffClan leader spoke. “They both lost several cats. Because our camp is the most well-guarded of the three, they will be staying us indefinitely.” 

“Are you sure that’s the best idea!?” a CliffClan she-cat called up to Drizzlestar. “This leaf-bare is so harsh—we can hardly feed ourselves, let alone strange cats.”

“We can hunt for ourselves just fine,” said Patchmoon stiffly. 

“ _I_ don’t think this is a good idea at all.” An ill-tempered tom named Cragclaw curled his lip and narrowed his eyes at the newcomers. “What if the Dark Ones follow them here, and find a way to get into our camp? Then we’ll all be dead, and the Clans will be no more.” 

“Clan life has always been dangerous,” Drizzlestar replied from up on the ledge. “We just have to be extra on guard, is all, until the Dark Ones leave the forest.” 

“How do you know they’re going to leave at all?” Cragclaw challenged his leader. “What if these freeloaders stay with us forever?” 

Hisses rippled through the crowd as several ForestClan and LakeClan cats turned to glare at Cragclaw, their pelts bristling. 

“Quiet!” Drizzlestar snapped. The speckled gray tom stared down at Cragclaw with a burning blue gaze.

“ForestClan and LakeClan are quite capable of taking care of themselves,” Drizzlestar said coolly. “They won’t be a burden.” 

He swept his eyes over the crowd. “Does anyone else have any objections to this?” 

No one replied. Cragclaw walked away from the group, growling under his breath. 

“Then this meeting is over,” said Drizzlestar. He sprang down from the ledge, and padded over to Shellstar as the crowd dispersed. 

“Sorry about that,” he mumbled to the LakeClan leader. “I promise that you will be well taken care of here.”

Shellstar dipped her head. “Thank you, Drizzlestar.”

The ForestClan and LakeClan cats wandered around the camp, looking lost and confused. Lynxheart knew his way around here somewhat, as he and Dusklight had once visited CliffClan, but it was of course strange to the others. 

“Hey, Lynxheart.” Thornfire was quietly murmuring in his ear. “Um…Cherryleaf and I want to go search for Eagledawn. She could still be alive, but we don’t want to go alone. Could you and Grayspots come with us?” 

Lynxheart sucked in his breath and gazed up at the darkening sky. He knew that Thornfire was right—there was a small possibility that Eagledawn had survived the fall. Perhaps, if she’d fallen into the river, she’d been able to somehow swim to shore, or maybe she’d landed on another ledge. 

_But if that’s true, that means Silversnake could have survived too…_

“I’m not sure if traveling all the way back to the river is a good idea right now,” Lynxheart told Thornfire. “It’ll be very dark and cold soon. It’s probably best if we wait until morning.”

Thornfire shook his head. “I can’t wait,” he said, the usual impatience returning to his voice. “I have to know if my mother is alive or dead.” 

Lynxheart sighed. He knew the agonizing feeling of not knowing where a cat he cared about was safe or not. 

“Alright, we’ll head out soon,” he said. “But I want Dusklight to come with us. Let me speak to him first.”

Lynxheart’s fur bristled with dread as he walked over to Dusklight and motioned for them to talk alone, just outside of camp. 

“What’s wrong?” the messenger cat asked. 

Lynxheart shifted his paws. “Well, Dusklight…” he choked out. “Remember how I said that Eagledawn fell off the cliff when a Dark One was chasing us? Well…that’s not entirely what happened.” 

As Lynxheart told the story, Dusklight’s expression went from concerned, to perplexed, and then to outright horror. 

“No,” he said in a tiny, trembling voice. “Oh StarClan, no…”

“There’s a chance they could have both survived,” said Lynxheart. “We don’t know where they landed.” 

Dusklight was unresponsive for a moment. Then, he nodded stiffly. 

“Yes, let’s go now.” 

*   
In a stroke of luck, the moon was full and the sky was clear that night, casting a bright silvery light over the land. They were able to make their way down the cliff and into the forest below. 

_It’s been so long since we had a Gathering,_ Lynxheart thought as he gazed up at the moon. _Will life ever go back to normal?_

Grayspots shivered, fluffing up his pelt. “Great StarClan, it’s cold,” he murmured. 

“Yeah,” Thornfire agreed. “Eagledawn will probably call us idiots for going out in this to find her.” 

He talked as though he were certain they would find his mother alive, although there was a clear air of dread among them all as they made their way towards the river. Everyone kept their eyes and ears open for any dark shapes or glowing red eyes, ready to dart up a tree at a moment’s notice—but forest was quiet and still. Strangely still, it seemed. There were no sounds of creatures scurrying about, not even wind blowing through the trees. The frigid air and pale white light of the moon gave the forest a dead, empty feeling.

At least they reached the river. Its rumbling broke the uneasy silence, which was comforting to Lynxheart for a minute. However, his stomach clenched with dread as they began pacing the frosty bank, looking for any signs of Eagledawn or Silversnake. 

“Silversnake knows how to swim,” Lynxheart heard Dusklight murmur, mostly to himself. “If he landed in the river, he might be alive.”

Lynxheart shuddered, partially from the cold and partially because if they found Silversnake alive, he didn’t know what was going to happen. 

A loud, heartbreaking wail pierced his thoughts. Lynxheart felt sick as he saw Cherryleaf and Thornfire running ahead. He knew what that meant, even before he saw the body. Heart thudding, he slowly followed the two young cats to a shape lying on the shore. There, in the moonlight, lay the body of Eagledawn. Her ginger fur was sodden and plastered to her fur. A thin layer of ice had begun to form on her pelt. Her body was covered in bite and claw marks, but the wound that stood out the most was the giant gash in her throat. 

“Oh, no.” Dusklight moaned. He sank down to his haunches, staring at Eagledawn in disbelief. “Silversnake, how could you do this?”

Cherryleaf and Thornfire lay beside their mother and buried their faces into her fur. Everyone sat there in silence for several long moments. Then, Thornfire spoke quietly. 

“Is this my fault? I was never nice to Silversnake…am I the reason that he became like this…and killed my mother?” 

“No, it isn’t,” Lynxheart reassured the young tom. “The Dark Ones have been messing with Silversnake’s head since he was a kit. It has nothing to do with you.” 

He turned to Dusklight, who was still staring wordlessly at Eagledawn’s body. All he responded with was a stiff nod. 

They buried Eagledawn there on the shore. The sand was loose enough to make a decent sized grave. When they were done, they sat around with their fur fluffed against the cold and heads bowed. 

“Goodbye, Eagledawn,” Lynxheart murmured. “May you find good hunting, swift running, and shelter when you sleep.”

Unable to bear the depressing atmosphere any longer, Lynxheart got up and walked away. Dusklight joined him; Cherryleaf and Thornfire stayed by their mother for a few more moments. Grayspots sat by Cherryleaf, comfortingly draping his tail across her shoulders. 

“Lynxheart, look,” Dusklight whispered, gesturing at something on the sand. 

There, dribbled across the shore, was a trail of dried blood stains, leading towards the woods. 

“Silversnake must have gone this way,” Dusklight whispered so quietly so that only Lynxheart could hear. “He’s alive.”

“What do we do?” Lynxheart breathed. 

“I…I don’t think we should tell the others.” Dusklight kicked sand over the trail of blood, quickly hiding it. “If Cherryleaf and Thornfire see Silversnake, they might lose control of themselves, and kill him.”

Lynxheart didn’t know what to say. He was so torn—part of him wanted to go find his former Clan mate, and bring him to the CliffClan camp so that one of the medicine cats could treat the terrible injuries he must have. However, he knew that Silversnake would never be welcomed into the Clans again, after all he’d done. In a twisted way, Lynxheart found himself almost hoping that Silversnake would bleed out from his wounds. He shuddered at the dark thought…but at least if the silver tabby were dead, he would no longer suffer, or be a danger to the Clans.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music for this chapter:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjzHZDPrYKg

It was morning by the time they got back to CliffClan. Upon hearing the news of Eagledawn’s death, Patchmoon let out a low, heart-wrenching yowl. 

“Why?” he cried. “Haven’t we lost enough cats already? Oh, Eagledawn, my dear friend…”

Lynxheart hung his head. Patchmoon and Eagledawn had grown close since what remained of ForestClan had been driven out of their territory, especially since both of them had lost their mates. Lynxheart had even heard rumors among the apprentices that they might have kits together. But ForestClan had lost yet another warrior, and there would be no new kits. 

“She pushed me to flee from the ForestClan camp, when I was paralyzed with grief,” said Sunwhisker, staring at the ground with wide, hollow eyes. “The Dark Ones might have come back and slaughtered me if it hadn’t been for her.” 

“She was the best mother anyone could ask for.” Cherryleaf’s voice was tight with pain. “Thornfire and I will miss her dearly.”

“LakeClan will mourn her as well.” Shellstar padded over. “Eagledawn helped us hunt, and protected the younger warriors when the Dark Ones attacked. She was a very courageous warrior.”

Shellstar’s words faded away as suddenly, a ringing noise filled Lynxheart’s ears. The CliffClan camp disappeared—he was now surrounded by tall, ancient-looking stone structures. Weeds poked up through cracks in the hard, dark-colored ground. Everything was bathed in a dim light, as if a cloud had gone over the sun. 

_Wait a moment…I know this place,_ Lynxheart realized.

Just ahead of him was another cat. He gasped, recognizing the tabby pelt of Silversnake. He was limping along, in obvious pain angry red wound on his leg. He didn’t seem to have realized that Lynxheart was there.

And then, as quickly as the place had appeared, it disappeared, and Lynxheart was back in the CliffClan camp. He collapsed to the ground, breathing hard as his head throbbed with pain. 

“Lynxheart!” Dusklight cried, crouching over him. “What’s wrong?”

Lynxheart panted as white stars exploded before his eyes. His head hurt so badly that he couldn’t speak at first. Then, after a few moments, he caught his breath. 

“I think I had another vision…of the future, or something,” he stammered. “Silversnake is back at the Dead Place…or is heading there.”

“Wait, Silversnake!?” Patchmoon exclaimed. “He’s alive?”

 _Oh no._ Lynxheart’s blood ran ice cold as he realized what he’d just said out loud, in front of everyone. 

“Yeah, he’s alive,” said Thornfire hoarsely. “He killed Eagledawn.”

Shocked screeches rang out everywhere. 

“Lynxheart, what is the meaning of this!?” Patchmoon was glowering at him. 

“I…um…I…” Lynxheart stuttered, unable to get the words out. 

“The Dark Ones have driven Silversnake mad,” Dusklight spoke up. “We…haven’t been completely honest with you all. When we returned from trying to find him, half a moon ago, I said that my wounds had been from a fox. But actually, they were from Silversnake. We encountered him. He’d gone completely insane, and was doing the Dark One’s bidding because he didn’t want to face their punishment. He summoned them, and tried to get them to kill us, but they fled when the sun came out. Silversnake and I then fought. Lynxheart stopped him from killing me, and then he ran off.” 

Dusklight took a deep breath, and continued. “And then, yesterday, out on that ledge…Silversnake appeared, and blocked our escape route. Eagledawn fought him so that we could get away. They both fell off the cliff. When we found Eagledawn’s body, there was a bite wound in her throat. It appears that Silversnake killed her.”

The ForestClan warriors were staring bug-eyed at Dusklight. No one spoke. After several long, agonizingly tense moments, Shellstar spoke. 

“Why didn’t you tell your Clan mates the truth?”

“Because…because Silversnake is my brother.” Dusklight hung his head. “I was afraid that everyone would hate him, since he’s now working with the Dark Ones. But he’s not a bad cat. The Dark Ones have broken him. He’s done all these things because he thinks he doesn’t have a choice.” 

“Not a bad cat?” Patchmoon echoed. “He killed Eagledawn!”

“He isn’t in his right mind,” Dusklight said softly. 

“It’s true,” said Tulipwhisker, speaking up. “When we saw Silversnake, he could no longer think rationally. He can’t be held entirely responsible for his actions.” 

“But he’s still a threat.” Patchmoon unsheathed his claws. “We have to stop him. For all we know, he could have led the Dark Ones to ForestClan’s camp.” 

Something in Dusklight’s eyes caused Patchmoon to fall quiet. The black and white tom’s eyes bulged out of his head.

“Don’t tell me that he actually did lead them there?” Patchmoon said in almost a whisper.

Dusklight hesitated for a moment, and then dipped his head and said, “Yes. He confessed to doing that. I’m afraid he’s the reason for their attack.”

“You _LIED_ to us??” 

Lynxheart looked around wildly to see who had made that horrible screech. He was startled to realize it had come from Sunwhisker. His former mentor was staring at him with his jaw slack and eyes wild with shock.

“Yes, we did,” Lynxheart admitted quietly. “We thought it was for the best. We didn’t realize how much damage being dishonest would do. We’re sorry.”

 _“Sorry?”_ Sunwhisker howled. Lynxheart trembled. He’d never seen his good friend like this--Sunwhisker's eyes seemed to burn holes into him. 

“My mate died. My kits died. Our leader and deputy died. You covered up who killed them. And all you have to say for yourself is sorry!?” 

“Sunwhisker, I…”

“SHUT UP!” The yellow tabby snarled. His face was unrecognizable; his face was twisted into a contorted snarl. “I never believed you would lie to me like this, Lynxheart. Especially not to protect the cat who _murdered my family!!!”_

“It’s my fault,” said Dusklight, stepping between Lynxheart and Sunwhisker. “I’m the one who insisted we keep this a secret…” 

Sunwhisker drowned Dusklight’s words out with a ferocious hiss. Then he turned, and went hurrying towards the camp entrance.

“Where are you going!?” Lynxheart cried. 

“I’m going to find Silversnake, and avenge my mate and kits,” said Sunwhisker icily, without even looking back towards Lynxheart. 

“No, please don’t!” Dusklight hurried after him. “I can’t let you kill my brother!” 

Sunwhisker became a flash of yellow as he lunged at Dusklight. The latter yelped in pain, staggering backwards with bleeding scratch marks across his face. Sunwhisker darted forward, continuing towards the camp entrance. Dusklight leaped in front of him, blocking the other tom's path with his body. With an enraged screech, Sunwhisker slashed wildly at Dusklight. 

“Sunwhisker, _stop it!”_ Lynxheart couldn’t believe what was happening. He rushed over and barreled into Sunwhisker’s side, sending him sprawling. 

Suddenly, pain split Lynxheart’s face as Sunwhisker’s claws sliced through his nose. With a yowl, Lynxheart jumped back, shaking drops of blood from his muzzle. Sunwhisker lunged for Lynxheart again, but was then tackled by Dusklight. The two toms rolled around, screeching, scratching, and biting. Lynxheart stood there in horror, letting blood run down his face. Horror prevented him from moving…this scene was just too terrible. Every other cat in the camp was frozen, staring at the scene wordlessly.

A high-pitched squeal of pain gave Lynxheart the energy to move again. Sunwhisker had Dusklight pinned down, and was gripping opponent’s throat tightly in his jaws. 

“NO!” Lynxheart ran over and grabbed Sunwhisker by the scruff. Suddenly, Grayspots was at his side, along with Tulipwhisker. Together, the three of them pulled Sunwhisker off of Dusklight. The ginger tabby lay on his back, gasping for air. 

“Sunwhisker…please…calm down!” Lynxheart pleaded.

For a moment, the rage disappeared from Sunwhisker’s eyes. He stared at Dusklight, trembling, as if he too was horrified by what he’d almost done. Then, before anyone could stop him, he fled through the camp exit. 

“Dusklight, are you okay?” Lynxheart attempted to help the other tom to his paws, but suddenly, was shoved away. 

“You promised you wouldn’t tell anyone about Silversnake!” Dusklight hissed. 

Startled, Lynxheart stepped back. “But…you told everyone what really happened,” he said, confused.

“I had to, because _you_ revealed where he was!” Dusklight spat. 

Lynxheart felt as though a heavy stone were sinking in his stomach. His Clan was being torn apart; all his friends were turning against him. 

Dusklight got to his paws and limped over towards Hemlocktail, who let him lean on him as he guided the wounded cat to the CliffClan medicine den. 

“Traitor,” Patchmoon hissed, watching Dusklight leave. “I knew it was a bad idea to let a cat into ForestClan who wasn’t Clan-born.” 

“How can you say that!?” Lynxheart roared, suddenly pulsing with fury. “He’s our _messenger cat!”_

“The warrior code says that our loyalty to the Clan comes before loyalty to anything else, even our kin,” growled Patchmoon. “Besides, it seems we don’t need messenger cats anymore, now that we all live in the same place.” 

Lynxheart hissed menacingly, stepping towards Patchmoon, but Tulipwhisker stopped him. 

“We have to stop fighting amongst ourselves!” she snapped. “Things are bad enough as it is!” 

“Perhaps we should be more honest with each other in order to prevent fights,” Patchmoon retorted, curling his lip.

“What does it even matter anymore?” Lynxheart snarled. “We’re no longer a Clan.” 

 

Lynxheart lay wide awake in a nest of dead bracken, staring through the bramble screen that made up the CliffClan warriors’ den. The moon glowed brightly in the frosty air. Around him, he could hear his companions twitching and mumbling uncomfortably in their sleep. Lynxheart had only been able to doze off for a little while. He couldn’t bear to look at Dusklight—he was near the rear of the den, curled up in a nest with his back to Lynxheart. He’d refused to talk to them since their fight. His and Sunwhisker’s biting words echoed in his head, hurting far worse than the still fresh scratches on his face. 

_I’ll never pray to you again, StarClan,_ Lynxheart thought, hatefully glaring at the moon. _You don’t care about our suffering._

At that moment, he heard a raspy whisper in his ear.

_Dusklight is gone._

Lynxheart whirled around, panic shooting through him as he saw that Dusklight’s nest was indeed empty. He got to his paws and left the den, looking around the moonlit camp for the dark orange tom. But Dusklight was nowhere to be seen.

 _He’s gone to find Silversnake,_ Lynxheart realized. He sat down and gazed up at the deep night blue sky, as tiny snowflakes began to drift down. What should he do? Should he wake up the others and alert them to what was going on, or would they be too bitter and angry to care? Perhaps at least Tulipwhisker or Grayspots would come with him to find Dusklight. 

_No Lynxheart,_ the strange voice spoke again. _You must go by yourself. This conflict is between you and Dusklight alone._

“Who are you?” Lynxheart said out loud. He was only met with silence. With a sigh, he glanced back towards the warriors’ den. Whoever this cat was that was talking to him, he was at least far more helpful than his Clan mates had been.

Lynxheart quietly padded to the gap in the stone wall, and slipped out of the camp. The snowflakes grew bigger and fell more rapidly around him as he walked in the direction of the horizon, to the Dead Place. 

“Please, Dusklight, forgive me,” Lynxheart breathed. “I need you more than ever.”

Because in the silent, frigid night, he felt completely, utterly alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of Book 2


End file.
